Eight vehicles were crushed underneath the pedestrian crosswalk and eight victims were transported to hospitals, said Paul Estopinan, operations battalion chief at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, during a press conference.
The department received a call about the collapse around 1:30 p.m, Estopinan said.
Munilla Construction Management, which installed the bridge, in a statement on Twitter, said the bridge suffered a “catastrophic collapse causing injuries and loss of life.”
The bridge connects the university with the city of Sweetwater and was installed on Saturday in six hours over the eight-lane highway, according to a story that was posted on the university’s website. It was 174 feet (53 m) long and weighed 950 tons.
Students at FIU are currently on their spring break vacation, which runs from March 12 to March 17.
Television footage showed firefighters were walking across the flattened wreckage and medics treating injured people. Emergency personnel appeared to be trying to work their way through a hole in the top of the bridge.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump is aware of the collapse.
“Our brave first responders are working feverishly to save lives,” she said at a news briefing.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that it was sending a team to investigate the bridge collapse.
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