Cries for help in the wreckage; investigators describe difficulties of rescue efforts

[RamboLiberal]

People pinned and dying in the wreckage of the Interstate 35W bridge Wednesday night asked rescue workers to say their goodbyes to their families, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said.

More details are emerging about the frantic minutes and hours after the collapse of the bridge that spanned the Mississippi River and the harrowing choices rescue workers had to make.

"There's people pinned, severely injured. We couldn't move them. It was an obviously dangerous situation with stuff still falling." Dolan said. "The decision was made to leave them."

"People who were pinned or partly crushed told emergency workers to say 'hello' or say 'goodbye' to their loved ones," he said.

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_6526391

Heartbreaking! A salute to all who endangered their own lives going in to that wreckage!

[MadMaddie]

1. RIP my fellow countrymen and women...RIP

[Psyop Samurai]

2. What a horrible thing...

...so sad.

:cry:

[MasonJar]

3. I am so heartbroken for you, Minneapolis.

[partylessinOhio]

4. They couldn't break the glass windows and pull them out?

:wtf:

If they were that close - why?

:cry:

[BlooInBloo]

6. Don't ya think if it was easy, they WOULD have?

[partylessinOhio]

8. We are "supposed" to be the smartest nation on Earth.

Could they not have used the jaws of life or something.

With the huge number of bridges in decaying condition, we had better come up with some emergency strategies to act quickly to save lives.

Why haven't we moved in gigantic construction cranes to lift some of debris? We seem to have no plan. This is Katrina all over again.

Chimp is on the way like Mighty Mouse to tell them, "You're doin' a fine job!"

:cry:

[kestrel91316]

10. The magnitude of the problem seems to have escaped you.

[Fierce]

7. The cars were crushed.

It's not like they were just sitting there.

[Canuckistanian]

9. Some people had arms and legs pinned

Nothing they could do until tons of wreckage were removed.

[bdamomma]

5. oh god, why did they (rescuers) have to leave those people?

so sad, so so sad.:cry:

[kestrel91316]

11. I don't think anybody was "left", per se. They just couldn't get them out

before they died of their injuries.

Freeway bridges are huge, massive structures. They can't just be lifted aside with jaws of life, as someone naively suggested.

[OzarkDem]

13. Too dangerous

I'm sure they would have stayed if they could; no doubt it will haunt them.

[RL3AO]

12. They can't even get to the bodies

because there is so much crap in the river. They plan on using a dam to lower the river 2 feet to help.

[sandnsea]

14. heartbreaking

I can't imagine the psychological trauma for everyone affected. This is just awful. I wonder what it will take for people to understand that this scene happens every single day in Iraq. How are they not supposed to hate us.