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| Bridge collapse in Washington state blamed on tractor-trailer - CBS News Posted: 24 May 2013 08:21 AM PDT Updated at 10:49 a.m. ET MOUNT VERNON, Wash. A truck hauling a too-tall load hit an overhead girder of a bridge on the major thoroughfare between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the span and two vehicles into the Skagit River below, though all three occupants suffered only minor injuries. It happened about 7 p.m. Thursday on the north part of the four-lane Interstate 5 bridge near Mount Vernon, about 60 miles north of Seattle, and disrupted travel in both directions. Initially, it wasn't clear if the bridge just gave way on its own. But at an overnight news conference, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste blamed it on a tractor-trailer carrying an oversize load that hit an upper part of the span. The vertical clearance from the roadway to the beam is 14.6 feet. "For reasons unknown at this point in time, the semi struck the overhead of the bridge causing the collapse," Batiste said. Motorist Dan Sligh saw it happen. "He hit the bridge about 3 or 4 feet wider than the actual bridge was, and we went right off with the bridge as it collapsed," Sligh told reporters from a hospital. The truck made it off the bridge and the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. Authorities have not yet said what the truck was carrying. Two other vehicles went into the water about 25 feet below as the structure crumbled. Three people were rescued and were recovering Friday. Drivers were told to expect delays. Detours have been set up to try to ease the congestion. Batiste urged drivers to avoid the area if possible, especially over the Memorial Day weekend. Traffic along the heavily travelled route could be affected for some time. The bridge is used by an average of 71,000 vehicles a day. "The I-5 corridor is totally disrupted," said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who went to the scene Thursday night. "Thanks to the rescuers and a little bit of luck, we had three Skagitonians who made it out of the Skagit River alive," Inslee said. Last August, Barry LePatner, author of "Too Big to Fall: America's Failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward," told CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor on "CBS This Morning" that the next bridge disaster was much closer than anyone wants to believe. "Since 1989," LePatner said, "we've had nearly 600 bridge failures in this country and, while they're not widely publicized ... a large number of bridges in every state are really a danger to the traveling public." On Thursday, Sligh and his wife were in their pickup on Interstate 5 heading to a camping trip when a bridge before them disappeared in a "big puff of dust." "I hit the brakes and we went off," Sligh said, adding he "saw the water approaching ... you hold on as tight as you can." Sligh, his wife and another man in a different vehicle were dumped into the chilly waters of the Skagit River. Sligh and his wife were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other man was reported in stable condition at United General Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, hospital CEO Greg Reed said. Sligh said his shoulder was dislocated in the drop into the water, and he found himself "belly deep in water in the truck." He said he popped his shoulder back in and called out to his wife, who he described as being in shock initially as they waited for rescuers to arrive in boats. The bridge was inspected twice last year and repairs were made, Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson said. "It's an older bridge that needs a lot of work just like a good number of bridges around the state," she said. Transportation officials are working on plans for either a temporary or permanent replacement, she said. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team. Jeremiah Thomas, a volunteer firefighter, said he was driving nearby when he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. "The bridge just went down, it crashed through the water," he said. "It was really surreal." Deyerin said the water depth was about 15 feet, and the vehicles half-visible in the water likely were resting on portions of the collapsed bridge. Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold. "It's not something you see every day," said Jimmy O'Connor, the owner of two local pizza restaurants who was driving on another bridge parallel to the one that collapsed. "People were starting to crawl out of their cars." He said he and his girlfriend were about 400 yards away on the Burlington Bridge when they heard "just a loud bang." "Then we looked over and saw the bridge was down in the water," he said. He pulled over and saw three vehicles in the water, including the camping trailer that landed upside-down, he said. The bridge was not classified as structurally deficient, but a Federal Highway Administration database listed it as being "functionally obsolete" — a category meaning that the design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders and low clearance underneath. The bridge, which was inspected last August and November, was built in 1955 and had a sufficiency rating of 47 out of 100 at its November 2012 inspection, Transportation Department spokesman Noel Brady said Friday. The state average is 80, according to an Associated Press analysis. Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The bridge was 1,112 feet long and 180 feet wide, with two lanes in each direction, Brady said. There are four spans, or sections, over the water supported by piers. The span on the north side is the one that collapsed. It's a steel truss bridge, meaning it has a boxy steel frame. The mishap was reminiscent of the August 2007 collapse of an I-35W bridge in Minneapolis that killed 13 people and injured another 145 when it buckled and fell into the Mississippi River during rush-hour. Sligh was thankful. His wife was "doing OK" and he had "lots of cuts," he said. "You're kind of pinching yourself and realize you're lucky to be alive." |
| UK fighters escort Pakistan plane to airport, two arrests - Reuters Posted: 24 May 2013 07:51 AM PDT  A Pakistan International Airlines is surrounded by emergency vehicles on the tarmac at Stansted Airport, southern England, May 24, 2013. Credit: Reuters/ Paul Hackett LONDON | (Reuters) - British fighter jets escorted a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane to Stansted Airport near London on Friday, where police went on board and arrested two men on suspicion of endangering an aircraft. Passengers were leaving the plane and no one was hurt in the incident, a spokesman for the airport said. Flight PK709 from Lahore in Pakistan had been due to land at Manchester in northern England with 297 passengers on board, but was diverted shortly before arrival. Britain is on high alert after a soldier was hacked to death on a London street on Wednesday in what the government are treating as a terrorist incident. A security source said early indications were that the plane was not the target of a terrorist attack. A passenger who had just got off the plane told the BBC the pilot had informed passengers after landing that he had diverted to Stansted because of threats. The passenger, named by the BBC as Mr Munsif, said two men had been handcuffed on board and removed. "We landed safely and then he announced that they had some kind of threat from someone and that's why he landed the plane," the passenger said, speaking by telephone. "Essex Police have boarded a passenger plane diverted to Stansted Airport and two men have been arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft. They have been removed from the plane," the police said in a statement. The force is responsible for the area where Stansted is located. "The two men arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft are aged 30 and 41. They are being taken to a police station for interview by detectives," the police added. Stansted is one of London's less busy airports, preferred as a location for handling airplane security incidents. A spokesman for the airport said the plane was being held in an isolated area and that the rest of the airport was operating as normal. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said 10 fire engines had been sent to the airport. The Pakistani plane was a Boeing 777, according to the flight tracking website www.flightradar.com. According to two tracking websites, the aircraft broke off from its descent about 60 miles east of Manchester. It turned and followed a wide arc over northeast England and out to the North Sea before heading towards London. Britain launches military planes to intercept unidentified aircraft when they cannot be identified by other means, for example when the aircraft is not talking to air traffic controllers. (Additional reporting by Brenda Goh, Kate Holton, Tim Hepher; writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Kevin Liffey) |
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