Three workers remain hospitalized after a closed bridge collapsed in rural Mississippi, killing colleagues

MENDENHALL, Miss. (AP) – Three construction company employees remained hospitalized in critical condition Thursday, a day after a bridge collapsed while they were preparing it for demolition in a rural area of ​​central Mississippi, a sheriff said.

Three other workers died in the collapse and another was injured and treated at the scene, Simpson County Sheriff Paul Mullins told The Associated Press.

The bridge was located over the Strong River on State Route 149 in Simpson County, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of the state capital, Jackson. According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, it had been closed to traffic since Sept. 18 as part of a bridge replacement project.

Mullins said all of those killed or injured worked for TL Wallace Construction, based in Columbia, Mississippi. The Associated Press left a message with the company on Thursday. The main phone number was unanswered Wednesday evening and it was not possible to leave a message.

Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor said Thursday morning that he was still in the process of contacting relatives of the slain workers.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on social media late Wednesday that the Federal Highway Administration was “engaging state officials regarding” the “premature collapse during the demolition of a bridge on State Route 149 in Mississippi.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi said on social media Thursday that the bridge collapse was a tragic event.

“We must work to understand the cause of this accident so we can prevent something like this from happening again,” Hyde-Smith said.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation said one of its inspectors was at the site when the bridge collapsed and that person was uninjured.