Death toll in bridge collapse up to 13

WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. -- Rescuers hoisted two vehicles with four bodies inside from the murky Arkansas River on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the collapse of an interstate bridge to 13.

Lightning, rain and rising waters hampered the rescuers, who picked their way through the muddy water searching for an unknown number of people still missing after an out-of-control barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge and knocked out a 500-foot section of highway.

The bodies of seven women and six men have been recovered from the waters below the ridge, Lt. Chris West of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. With the help of sonar, a crane had hoisted 10 vehicles from the pile of mangled concrete and twisted steel.

About 10 families of people trapped in cars at the bottom of the river waited at the Webbers Falls City Hall for news. About a dozen vehicles plummeted into the water Sunday morning after the barge hit.

Earlier Tuesday, an investigator said towboat crew members' accounts support the towboat company's contention that the pilot had blacked out.

George Black of the National Transportation Safety Board said a crewman who visited with captain Joe Dedmon five to 10 minutes before the accident said everything seemed normal.