New developments in Florida bridge collapse. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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As authorities try to piece together what went wrong with the Florida bridge collapse that killed at least six people on Thursdsay, the Florida Department of Transportation disclosed that they received a call from an engineer who noticed cracks in the structure two days before the tragedy.
Denney Pate, an engineer employed by FIGG Bridge Group —who designed the project —left a voicemail for an FDT employee who was out on assignment at the time.
The revelation could explain what led to a lethal bridge collapse in Florida via an unanswered voicemail message released Friday.
Here's what it said
New York Times reporter Patriccai Mazzei tweeted on Friday:
"Florida Department of Transportation says engineer from Figg team left voicemail on Tuesday warning of cracking in FIU bridge," she tweeted.
The message apparently said, “obviously the cracking is not good and something’s going to have to be, ya know, done to repair that," and added, "but from a safety perspective we don't see that there's any issue there so we're not concerned about it from that perspective."
The bridge came crashing down Thursday, killing at least 6 people, and sending many to the hospital with serious injuries.
On Thursday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) added to the suspense when he tweeted another detail about what could have caused the collapse.
"The cables that suspend the #Miami bridge had loosened & the engineering firm ordered that they be tightened. They were being tightened when it collapsed today," he tweeted.
Florida's other senator, Bill Nelson, is "demanding" to review documentation relating to the bridge's collapse, tweeting on Friday that he "Just asked @USDOT to turn over records related to the engineering, design, construction, safety and inspection of the bridge that collapsed yesterday at @FIU. We need a clear understanding of who had what role in this tragedy and hold them accountable."
Nelson continued in a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Choe, "If anyone dropped the ball and it contributed to this tragedy, then they should be held accountable."
Chairman Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board announced on Friday that "the NTSB is here to conduct a safety investigation...we are looking at one thing and that is safety. What we are here to do is very simple – find out what happened so that we can keep it from happening again."
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