Crumbling infrastructure

Bridge collapses in Wash. state; people in water

William

The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in northern Washington state collapsed Thursday evening, sending vehicles and people into the water, the state patrol said.

USA Today,

24 May, 2013

Trooper Mark Francis told USA Today that two lanes in both directions collapsed.

No cause was known at this time, he said, and it was unknown how many vehicles were in the water or if there were deaths or injuries.

Washington state Department of Transportation spokesman Travis Phelps told KOMO-TV that investigators are looking into the possibility that an oversize load struck the bridge and triggered the collapse.

Interstate 5 is closed in both directions, Francis said. Phelps said the collapse means that commuters on the heavily traveled highway will have to find alternate routes "for the foreseeable future.''

"This is going to be a long term situation,'' Phelps said. "This is tragic. Unbelievable.''

The collapse occurred around 7 p.m. PT, Francis said. The location is near Mount Vernon, Wash., in Skagit County, about an hour's drive north of Seattle.

A Skagit Valley Herald reporter at the scene said a sheriff's office rescue boat has arrived and rescue crews were looking for people in the water, the Associated Press reported. The reporter saw one person sitting atop one vehicle in the water and could see a second vehicle as well.

Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold, the newspaper reported.

KOMO-TV aired video from a helicopter showing the collapsed bridge with rescuers working from shore and a motorboat to search for people.

A portion of the Interstate 5 bridge is submerged after it collapsed into the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash., on Thursday.(Photo: Frank Varga, AP)

Aat least two vehicles, a truck and automobile, could be seen in the water on the collapsed bridge section.

The river did not appear to be deep or fast-flowing at the time of the collapse. KOMO said the depth appeared to be about 10 feet.

KOMO reported that at least two people were taken to a hospital.

The bridge is the main route for traffic between the Seattle metro area and Vancouver, Canada.

The Seattle Times reported that bridge was built in 1955 and was classified by the National Bridge Inventory as "functionally obsolete" in both 2000 and 2010. But it said the Washington Department of Transportation does not list it among its list of "structurally deficient bridges."

Maryland Parking Garage Collapse: One Dead, Another Injured At Westfield Montgomery Mall

The National Government has today announced plans to introduce a number of charter hospitals, similar to their charter school counterparts, in major population centres around the country.

The Huffington Post

23 May, 2013

BETHESDA, Md. — Fire and rescue officials say a parking garage that was closed to the public has partially collapsed outside a shopping mall in Bethesda, Md., killing one construction worker and severely injuring another man.

Montgomery County fire spokeswoman Beth Anne Nesselt says rescuers were at the Westfield Montgomery Mall in suburban Maryland Thursday.

Earlier, Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham said two men were trapped and had severe injuries. Nesselt says one died. Rescuers are trying to free the other.

Officials say it appears a 50,000-pound section of the parking deck collapsed outside the Macy's store.

Graham says rescuers have confirmed there are no other people inside the structure.

The parking deck is under construction and not open to the public.