Miami Bridge Collapse: First Bodies Recovered

MIAMI, FL — The first bodies were recovered from the Florida International University bridge collapse early Saturday morning as specialists from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue have continued to work "tirelessly" since 950 tons of cement and debris came raining down on eight vehicles that had simply stopped for a traffic light. First responders pulled a gold Jeep Cherokee and a white Chevy truck from the rubble. Officials said they believe there were six other vehicles still pinned under the wreckage.

Miami-Dade police released the first four names of at least six victims killed in the tragedy. The collapse occurred along busy SW 8th Street at 1:47 p.m. during the university's spring break.

Officials said that Rolando Fraga Hernandez died in his Jeep Cherokee that was pulled from the debris at 5:40 a.m. on Saturday. Little more than an hour later at 6:57 a.m. the bodies of 57-year-old Oswald Gonzalez and 53-year-old Alberto Arias were located in the Chevy.

Miami-Dade police also identified a victim who died at Kendall Regional Medical Center shortly after the collapse as Navarro Brown.

"We’ve worked through the night and we will continue to work until the last car and the last victim has been removed," declared Miami-Dade Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp. "Early this morning we removed two cars and we hope to finish that part of the process today."

Director Juan Perez of the Miami-Dade Police Department said that the victims were being left in their vehicles as they were taken to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office for extraction and identification "so that we can have 100 percent confirmation as to their identity," according to Perez, who hoped to find the last of the victims by late Saturday night.

"As these individuals, these victims are being brought out, we’re paying them respect with a moment of silence and we have our chaplains plugged into that process as well," said Perez. "They’re being escorted to the medical examiner’s office so that the victims can have some dignity as they are transferred from location to location prior to their families gaining control of them."

FIU announced on Saturday that it would observe a moment of silence at 1:47 p.m. on Monday to honor the victims.

An official with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that his crews have been relentless since the tragedy.

"Our crews refuse to leave until they get the last vehicles out of here," he told reporters.

Photo courtesy Miami-Dade Fire Rescue