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(AP) - First lady Laura Bush on Friday surveyed the
wreckage of an interstate bridge that collapsed Wednesday into the
Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, and praised those who
rushed to help.

      "There's so many good stories," Bush said of the response. It
"lifts people and it really encourages people."

      She mentioned the regular people who helped children get safely
off a school bus perched on a slanting bridge deck, and the trained
rescue drivers who went into the swirling, murky Mississippi River
searching for survivors.

      Bush spoke on a small hill, yards away from the school bus that
has been part of some of the most enduring images of the accident.
She could see the steel beams that once support the bridge were
snapped like twigs. The street lights that once guided drivers were
now toppled, pointing every direction.


      More than 65 below, the river flowed around four cars. On one,
the silver trunk was the only part above water. A boat with three
searchers moved slowly back and forth near the rubble.


      Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Robert Allen stood next to her
and described the response. He indicated the boat and said divers
were still working. 

"Divers are below us working, searching
vechicles in the water right now," he said.

      After visiting the bridge, Bush traveled a few blocks to the
office of the Twin Cities chapter of the American Red Cross. There
she made a point of shaking hands with Jay Reeves, the group's
public safety coordinator.

      On Wednesday night, Reeves was driving near the bridge and saw
it fall. He rushed toward the wreckage and helped evacuate children
from the bus and treated some of the other wounded.

      About 25 Red Cross workers and employees gathered outside their
office to meet Bush. She praised their work.

      "Our country really, really depends on you, depends on you to
come in at all the toughest times, whether its 9/11, hurricanes and
now this," she said.

      Laura Bush's husband, President Bush, was scheduled to visit the
scene on Saturday, and he could bring the promise of significant
federal aid.

      During the presidential visit, Bush was to comfort people,
praise the rescue workers and get a briefing on the situation, said
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

      At least five people were killed and 79 injured when the
Interstate 35W bridge plummeted more than 60 feet into the river.

      Officials estimated that eight other people were missing.

      Recovery efforts have been slowed by the river's fast-moving
currents and the tons of rubble still in the river.

      The eight-lane bridge carried 141,000 vehicles a day, and was
undergoing resurfacing repairs when it buckled during the Wednesday
evening rush hour.

      Dozens of cars plunged into the river, some falling on top of
one another.

Gallery

First lady Laura Bush on Friday surveyed the
wreckage of an interstate bridge that collapsed Wednesday into the
Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, and praised those to
rushed to help the wounded.


First lady visits scene of Minneapolis bridge collapse

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