Divers hunt for US bridge victims

President George Bush offered condolences and pledged assistance to help the area recover as the search continued beneath the twisted steel and concrete slabs.

As the official death count from the bridge collapse stood at four, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said more bodies were in the water.

The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was being repaired when the bridge buckled during Wednesday's evening rush hour, plunging dozens of cars more than 60ft into the Mississippi River, some falling on top of one another.

In a Rose Garden press conference at the White House, President Bush said the government would help ensure the 40-year-old span is rebuilt as soon as possible.

"We in the federal government must respond, and respond robustly, to help the people there not only recover, but to make sure that lifeline of activity - that bridge - gets rebuilt as quickly as possible," Mr Bush said.

As the investigation into the cause of the disaster got under way, Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minneapolis) said: "A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down."

In the river, divers were checking for bodies and taking down licence plate numbers for authorities to track down the vehicles' owners. Getting the vehicles out was expected to take several days and involve moving around very large, heavy pieces of bridge.

Police Chief Tim Dolan said: "We have a number of vehicles that are underneath big pieces of concrete, and we do know we have some people in those vehicles. The bridge is still shifting. We're dealing with the Mississippi River. We're dealing with currents. We're going to have to do it slowly and safely."

He said police estimate that 20 to 30 people were unaccounted for, though he stressed that it was just an estimate. Hospital officials said 79 others were injured.