12 die in bridge collapse

Press, 17 April 1982, Page 8

12 die in bridge collapse

NZPA Chicago An unfinished highway bridge collapsed yesterday killing 12 workers and injuring at least 17 and pinning some of the. victims under shattered blocks and twisted steel girders. ‘

“All I remember was there was a loud noise and then it started coming down,” said Robert Gilbert of Gary, Indiana, who was working nearby when the accident occurred about 10.30 a.m. “People started to holler and then I/ran.” All available ambulances in the densely populated industrialised area south-east of Chicago were summoned to the scene.

The Lake County Coroner (Dr Albert Willardo) said 12 men had died. At first he said 15 men were killed, but the count was reduced to 12 because confusion at local hospitals led to double-counting. “To the best-of my knowledge, al! of the missing have been accounted for,” Dr Willardo said. .

There were conflicting reports on the number of injured. A Coroner’s assistant said 16 .were injured. A police chief had earlier had said 32 were injured and four others were trapped in the debris. A check of two hospitals revealed 17 people brought in. Dr Willardo said two of the injured were in a critical condition.

Nearly 75 construction workers were working on or under the free-standing bridgework when it gave way without warning and plunged 15m to the ground. One man’s body was trapped head down in the pillar of wet concrete that had hardened since the bridge fell, Dr Willardo said.