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Pedestrian Bridge Collapses

16 hurt.

The Associated Press
WFLS News

Date published: 7/6/2009

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Authorities say some 25 people were injured after a foot bridge collapsed under the weight of dozens of Fourth of July celebrants, sending 50 into the lake below.

A township trustee says the bridge was overloaded with twice the number of people it was built to handle. John Rooda says the wooded bridge suspended by cables can carry a load of about 40 people at any one time.

He says police were stationed at either end of the bridge but people leaving the Independence Day fireworks display rushed them.

Witnesses say the bridge was crowded with people before it plunged into the water below. Police say none of the injuries is life threatening and that a preliminary investigation suggests a "structural failure" with the bridge.

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