Church Bells Ring In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Church bells tolled in downtown Minneapolis as residents observed a moment of silence for the victims of last week&#39;s bridge collapse. <br/><br/>At 6:05 p.m. Tuesday _ the exact time

Wednesday, August 8th 2007, 7:14 am

By: News On 6


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Church bells tolled in downtown Minneapolis as residents observed a moment of silence for the victims of last week's bridge collapse.

At 6:05 p.m. Tuesday _ the exact time of the bridge collapse six days earlier _ crowds gathered at two parks near the broken span and along an upstream bridge, removing their hats and bowing their heads.

At one observance, people threw flowers into the Mississippi River and poured a vial of water into the river after blessing it.

``This is how we can really reverence the silence of the dead,'' said Sister Rita McDonald of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

On Wednesday, flags were to be flown at half-staff at the Capitol from sunrise to sunset to honor the victims, one week after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.

Five people are confirmed dead. Four people still hospitalized with injuries improved to serious condition, leaving only one person in critical condition. About 100 people were hurt in the disaster.

A team of Navy divers joined the search Tuesday for eight people who remain missing.

The Navy and FBI search teams bring experience and technology far beyond what's been available to local search crews, who complained they have been hampered by dangerously unstable wreckage and a rapid current.

The Navy divers will be tethered to aboveground oxygen tanks, so they can stay in the water much longer than local divers, who had been using scuba tanks. Heavy-duty equipment will allow divers to cut through steel wreckage. The Navy also has sophisticated sonar to scan for bodies.

Navy divers assisted in the reclamation of historic sunken ships including the ironclad Civil War ship the Monitor. After the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, N.Y., they made more than 700 dives to recover bodies and reclaim wreckage. Navy divers recovered both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Even as the divers headed into the murky water, state officials announced tentative plans for a replacement bridge, with five lanes each way instead of four. The new bridge also might be built to accommodate bus rapid transit or light rail in the future.

Officials said they will start narrowing the field of potential contractors this week and by Sept. 1 they hope to select the builder. The deal will include incentives for early completion.

But Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the aggressive timeline _ the goal is to have it open before the end of next year _ won't mean corners are cut.

``We are going to get this bridge built safely, number one,'' he said at a news conference. ``So we're not going to go so fast or emphasize speed that the bridge isn't done well or done correctly.''

One of the heroes of the collapse, Jeremy Hernandez, got good news Tuesday. Hernandez, who dropped out of Dunwoody College of Technology when he couldn't pay the tuition, was hailed for helping evacuate a school bus full of children. The school is now offering him the chance to finish his two-year automotive technician degree for free.
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