Officials in the state of Florida say the lead engineer responsible for a pedestrian bridge that collapsed this week left a voicemail for a state official two days before the accident warning of “some cracking.”
The Florida Department of Transportation said the voicemail was not retrieved until Friday because the state transportation official to whom the message was directed was out of the office on assignment.
According to a transcript of the call released by the department, the engineer with the private contractor FIGG Bridge Group said he did not consider the cracking on the bridge a safety issue.
“Obviously the cracking is not good,” he said, adding that something would have to be done to repair it.
Earlier Friday, authorities in Florida said the death toll from the collapsed pedestrian bridge on the campus of Florida International University had risen to six people. They said the toll is expected to climb as searchers dig through rubble, where several cars remain buried.
Local Police Department acknowledged a homicide investigation is under way but described as premature reports that criminal charges are imminent.
At least nine people were injured when the bridge.