After a week of searching for victims from the Minneapolis bridge collapse, rescue coordinators have decided to bring in Navy and FBI divers. The local teams have not found the remaining eight people that are missing and believed to be dead, mainly due to very unstable debris and wreckage. In addition to those missing, five people have been confirmed dead and five others are still in hospitals in critical care.
The FBI dive teams brought with them advanced technology to help in the search. One item is a small submarine that includes a robotic arm. Also, workers have begun to move equipment into place to remove the large slabs of concrete and pieces of steel out of the river.
The Navy said that there would not be a spokesperson to comment on their role in recovery until some time on Tuesday.
As the recovery effort enters a new stage, teams of designers and builders are racing to meet a dawn Wednesday deadline for showing they are qualified to bid on the bridge replacement project, which the state has put on a fast track.
Officials want to have find a contractor for the job by September, and have a new bridge built and ready by the end of 2008. Officials realize this is goal is a bit fast, but say that the need for a bridge is an emergency.
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