Interstate bridge collapses into Mississippi River

[alcina]

Well, thankfully all of my loved ones and their loved ones are fine physically. They are just sick about the tragedy to other families and are still shaking that something like this could happen out of the blue. It will be a long healing process.

 

[tc]

Good news Alcina!

 

[BladesRobinson]

Can someone who is a PSD explain the likely approach that the local teams will take and what that will involve for them over the course of the next few days, weeks and months?

Leah,

The operation has shifted from a "rescue mode" to a "recovery mode" AND "investigative mode." In this instance SAFETY is paramount and the last thing anyone wants is a diver to loose his life doing a "recovery."

There are several things that the authorities are doing and will probably do over the next few days. It is MY opinion that one of the first obstacles is locating the vehicles, mapping them and documenting their location (and the location of other wreckage) so the recovery operation can be planned properly. One of the best ways to do this is with SONAR technology. There are MANY good SONAR systems on the market and generally I group them into one of three categories; boat mounted transducer, transducers mounted to a towfish, and rotating (scanning) transducers.

To do proper side scan SONAR imaging of the bottom it is ideal to mount the transducers in a towfish or mount a rotating (scanning) SONAR on a tripod. Because of the river current and risk of entanglement to the towfish, I believe the SONAR system mounted to a tripod offers the best solution. The high resolution images have less distortion using a tripod based system and these images can be saved on a PC.

Using a software program, the SONAR images can be fitted together, much like a mosaic. When the mosaic is completed, a detailed “picture” of the bottom can be seen with every piece of debris shown, as well as every vehicle or other piece of evidence. The beauty of this system is that the scene below the water surface can be mapped, to scale, with infinite detail and this in turn can allow incident commanders and planners to make good decisions on how to safely begin this challenging recovery.

The area underwater mapped, it can then be divided into smaller divisions so the operation can be managed with a higher degree of efficiency and safety.

Hopefully the flow of water can be controlled too and it is my understanding that the Army Corps of Engineers is working on that. If the current can be minimized then divers can work with a higher degree of safety.

It would probably be prudent then to raise each vehicle individually (crane) and allow victims to be recovered topside with minimal risk to those doing the extrication.

Certainly the best minds in the nation have been mobilized to this scene and the best tools available are at their disposal. With good education and good equipment, good decisions will be made. I am confident that loved ones will be recovered and the cause of this tragedy will be discovered and prevented in the future.


The following hyperlink show the abilities of the tripod mounted rotating/scanning SONAR system:
http://www.kongsberg-mesotech.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mediaGallery.showAllMedia
This hyperlink shows how towfish SONAR images are put together in a mosaic to map the bottom.
http://www.chesapeaketech.com/images/product-pages/swm-m2.jpg

 

[Cacia]

thank you for that

 

[Gary D.]

Reporters like one on CNN need to back off a bit and not get the general public riled up. She’s making it sound like people are still alive, trapped in their vehicles and the divers aren’t doing anything. She even mentioned getting Tech and Cave divers there to do the job.

I don’t think she has a clue that this very well may be a joint effort between PSD, Military and/or Commercial agencies not a PADI, SSI, NAUI or other recreation agency.

She has done a night dive and couldn’t see a thing. So she knows what bad visibility is (DUH).

DRI tried to get in an explanation about what’s going on but weren’t given enough time to even scratch the surface. It was more important to get MD’s from ER to say they had broken bones coming into the hospital. I don’t think a bridge collapsing is going to start a Bird Flu Pandemic.

She needs to get it into her head that this is a RECOVERY operation. Rescue went away yesterday.

Reporters, Maybe we could clear out our jails and eliminate overcrowding by sentencing criminals to be attached to one home for 72 hours. Then maybe they would think twice before committing another crime.

This is a very bad deal. Proper reporting could make it easier on everyone. But then lets keep the sensationalism going for as long as we can.

Gary D.

 

[SteveC]

This is probably the most difficult rescue diving you could do. The only “not bad” part would be the shallow depth. All the concrete is being pushed around by the current. The vis would zero. The jagged debris and entanglement possibilities would be enormous.

 

[Cacia]

On our news, it looks like they have suddenly decided to run check the bridges in Hawaii.

I was hoping we had something a bit more systematic...

 

[Jorbar1551]

I think this is going to be a lot more difficult than any above water recovery operation. At the WTC, they could see, they had cranes which could just pick everything up easily, and they had an almost unlimited amount of personnel resources to use. here, they cant see, they have to deal with a pretty strong current(i think), and how many people in that area are psd divers? I know they were talking about bringing the military and other cleanup divers in, but that takes a lot of time and money.

this is all coming from a psd probie. good luck to the divers

 

[Gary D.]

I think this is going to be a lot more difficult than any above water recovery operation. At the WTC, they could see, they had cranes which could just pick everything up easily, and they had an almost unlimited amount of personnel resources to use. here, they cant see, they have to deal with a pretty strong current(i think), and how many people in that area are psd divers? I know they were talking about bringing the military and other cleanup divers in, but that takes a lot of time and money.

this is all coming from a psd probie. good luck to the divers

I would much rather be dealing with this than another WTC. But it is time to get the Army and Navy divers going and start making arrangements for the Commercial boys to get busy. This is way over PSD heads to try and handle alone.

Gary D.

 

[MeiLing]

Reporters like one on CNN need to back off a bit and not get the general public riled up. She’s making it sound like people are still alive, trapped in their vehicles and the divers aren’t doing anything. She even mentioned getting Tech and Cave divers there to do the job.

I don’t think she has a clue that this very well may be a joint effort between PSD, Military and/or Commercial agencies not a PADI, SSI, NAUI or other recreation agency.

She has done a night dive and couldn’t see a thing. So she knows what bad visibility is (DUH).

DRI tried to get in an explanation about what’s going on but weren’t given enough time to even scratch the surface. It was more important to get MD’s from ER to say they had broken bones coming into the hospital. I don’t think a bridge collapsing is going to start a Bird Flu Pandemic.

She needs to get it into her head that this is a RECOVERY operation. Rescue went away yesterday.

Reporters, Maybe we could clear out our jails and eliminate overcrowding by sentencing criminals to be attached to one home for 72 hours. Then maybe they would think twice before committing another crime.

This is a very bad deal. Proper reporting could make it easier on everyone. But then lets keep the sensationalism going for as long as we can.

Gary D.

One night dive and she thinks she knows more than hordes of experts!:shakehead

Folks trapped in their vehicles, I think she's been watching too many SUV commercials! Like everyone's driving a submarine!

Humor at the stupid reporter! My deepest condolences to friends and families and prayers for the safety of the recovery teams.