More Victims Removed From Minneapolis Bridge Wreckage

U.S. Navy divers and Federal Bureau of Investigation have been helping local divers search for more victims.

Photo courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard

(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) - Searchers in Minneapolis have recovered three bodies from the site of last week's deadly highway bridge collapse. The death toll from the bridge collapse is now seven.

The bodies recovered today have not been identified. Identities have been established for five of the victims who have been recovered so far. 100 people were injured when the bridge came down.

The U.S. Navy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been helping local divers search for more victims.

The is day number 8 since the unprecedented catastrophe that struck this northern American city during rush hour.

Investigators say they may have found a potential design flaw in the bridge. Other bridges around the nation are now under inspection for similar problems with parts that connected the bridge's girders.

The discovery could impact many other regions of the country, as engineers in Minneapolis say it may be a crucial discovery, saying that other bridges around the country could see similar problems.

In the case of the Minnesota bridge, gusset plates are used in the design and construction of numerous bridges.

Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters says that given the questions being raised by the N.T.S.B., "it is vital that states remain mindful of the extra weight construction projects place on bridges."

Transportation officials in Minnesota say they did not expect the issue with the bridge’s gusset plates to come to light as it has. This bridge that was built in 1967 has hundreds of the plates which are made of steel, which rusts.