Mississippi bridge collapse: three dead and four critically injured

Three people were killed and four seriously injured after a bridge collapsed in Mississippi on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the bridge over Strong River on Highway 149 collapsed in a “workplace accident” while a contractor was demolishing the bridge for a bridge replacement project.

“Unfortunately, there have been fatalities as a result of the accident, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones,” the department wrote on X.

Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor later told the New York Times that the seven men were working on the bridge and using heavy machinery to demolish it, when it suddenly gave way and fell 40 feet.

He said emergency services were able to recover the remains of two of the victims as of 7.30pm and were in the process of recovering the third.

The bridge collapsed killed three people and injured at least four

Late Wednesday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced on social media that county first responders and “other state assets were on the scene of the tragedy.”

The exact cause of the bridge’s collapse remains unclear at this time, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Federal Highway Administration was addressing “state officials” about the “premature collapse during the demolition of a bridge on State Route 149 in Mississippi.”

The road has been closed to traffic since September 18.