The busy eight-lane interstate bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was being repaired at the time and several lanes were closed to traffic, which was bumper to bumper in the remaining lanes when it suddenly gave way shortly after 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. Moscow time).
Police and Homeland Security officials quickly dispelled initial concerns that the collapse might have been caused by terrorism, saying that everything indicated the incident was the result of structural failure.
"At this point there is nothing to suggest that this was anything other than a structural collapse," a police spokeswoman said.
More than 60 people were hospitalized with various injuries, and at least six were reported to be in critical condition. One person was reported to have drowned, and rescuers, who called off their search for more victims as night fell, warned that the death toll would probably rise.
The bridge, which was built in 1967, was about 1,900 feet long and served as a major traffic artery for the state's capital. Because of heavy river navigation on the Mississippi River, it was built using a single steel arch to avoid placing pylons in the water.
Many caught in the rush-hour traffic when the collapse occurred experienced miraculous escapes, including dozens of children on a school bus that had just crossed when the bride's central section fell into the water with at least 50 vehicles.
