Pedestrian Bridge Collapses, 16 People Hospitalized

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A pedestrian suspension bridge has collapsed into a lake in northwest Indiana, sending at least 16 people to local hospitals.
   
Emergency officials say spectators were leaving a Fourth of July fireworks display late Saturday when the bridge fell at Hidden Lake Park in Merrillville, about 45 miles southeast of Chicago. One firefighter tells The Times newspaper of Munster that it wasn’t immediately clear how many people fell into the water, but that emergency workers had to rescue “quite a few people.“

Witnesses describe a chaotic scene, estimating that the roughly 90-foot-long bridge was full of people before it fell. One man tells The Times that “people were grasping and hanging onto the bridge itself.“
   
About 50 emergency vehicles responded. Dive teams and a helicopter were helping with rescue efforts.