Bridge Death Toll Now 5, 8 missing

It looks like the death toll from the Minneapolis bridge collapse could be as low as 13, which while terrible in itself, is certainly lower than anyone expected given the number of vehicles involved. The fifth victim recovered so far was the driver of the burning semi-truck. I remember when I first saw those pictures I didn't see how that driver could have gotten out alive. Unfortunately, he didn't.

The divers have a very tough job ahead of them:

Murky waters and rapid currents promised to make the search for those still unaccounted for both dangerous and challenging.

"We've got the current and debris, which create manmade whirlpools," said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek at a news conference. "Conditions are worse than yesterday."...

More bodies had been spotted in the fast-moving currents, which were "even more treacherous" Friday than a day earlier, Stanek said. But the death toll, while expected to grow, was not expected to reach the numbers that the disaster amid bumper-to-bumper, two-lane traffic might have produced.

One of the first rescuers in the water described the conditions:

Shanna Hanson, a fire captain shown on video searching cars in the water shortly after the collapse, plunged into the water with no gear save a rope around her waist. She downplayed her efforts but described the conditions as extremely hazardous.

"Because the ground was so uneven because of the slabs and debris under there, the water depth kept changing, so that would change things up a bit. The visibility was really bad. It's the Mississippi and it's August, so visibility was under a foot," she told CNN.

"You have the jagged metal and broken glass, and the problem is you can't see what's around you and you don't know what else you're going to bump into," she added.

That lady is a true hero. Watching her repeatedly diving on submerged debris wearing only a rope as protection was truly amazing.

I've heard many people try and make comparisons to 9/11 out of this, which of course really can't compare. Yes, there's twisted metal and death and injuries, but you can hardly compare a terrorist attack to a failure of maintenance. However, one comparison is valid. In both cases, most of the victims were just going about their daily lives when suddenly and without warning, death reached out to take them. It brings to the forefront the fragility of life in general, and how even routine errands and commutes can't be taken for granted.