Crews search for victims after collapse of bridge

PORT ISABEL, Texas -- Crews found a fifth body Monday while searching for people trapped in their cars after driving off a bridge that partially collapsed when it was hit by barges and a tugboat.

Trooper Adrian Rivera, a Department of Public Safety spokesman, said at least five people have been confirmed dead and another three or four are missing in the Queen Isabella Causeway. The collision Saturday knocked out part of the bridge, the only one linking Port Isabel and South Padre Island.

Also Monday, Lt. Robert Wyman, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the Coast Guard would launch an investigation into the accident "due to the severity of the case."

Recovery efforts were temporarily suspended Sunday because a portion of the bridge was unstable, Rivera said. Divers on Monday examined the bridge to make sure it is stable enough for rescuers to search nearby, Wyman said.

The department said authorities have recovered the bodies of Port Isabel Fire Chief Robert Harris, 46, Stevan Rivas, 22, Robin Leavell, 29, of Mercedes, and Giaspar Hinojosa. The fifth victim was seen in a car in the water and the body has not been recovered or identified.

Thirteen people were rescued from the 50-foot-deep channel, part of the Intracoastal Waterway that connects the Texas Gulf coast with shipping commerce on the Mississippi. The waterway remained closed, and ships were bring rerouted.

Tide hampering search

Poor visibility in the Laguna Madre and tidal currents have moved the sunken vehicles and are hampering recovery efforts.

Stephen Mosher, president of Brown Water Towing, the tug's owner, said navigation lights on the causeway were not working at the time of the crash. Mosher also said in a statement that the vessel veered off course after striking an unmarked sandbar.

Wyman would not comment directly, but said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the channel Sunday and found it had proper depth.