MENDENHALL, Mississippi — As of Thursday, three employees of a construction firm remained in critical condition following a bridge collapse that occurred while they were preparing the structure for demolition. This tragic incident unfolded in a rural part of central Mississippi, according to the local sheriff.

In the collapse, three workers lost their lives, while another was injured and received treatment at the location, stated Simpson County Sheriff Paul Mullins. The unfortunate event took place over the Strong River along state Route 149 in Simpson County, situated roughly 40 miles south of Jackson, the state capital. The Mississippi Department of Transportation noted that the bridge had been closed to traffic since September 18 as part of an ongoing replacement project.

All individuals impacted by the incident, either fatally or through injury, were employees of T.L. Wallace Construction, which is based in Columbia, Mississippi. Efforts to reach the company for comment have been unsuccessful, as their main phone line did not respond to inquiries both Wednesday evening and Thursday.

Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor shared that he is currently in the process of notifying the families of the deceased workers. In response to the tragic incident, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media late Wednesday, indicating that the Federal Highway Administration was in communication with state officials regarding the unexpected bridge collapse during demolition operations on State Route 149.

Mississippi’s Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith also addressed the situation on social media, labeling the collapse as a devastating occurrence. She emphasized the need to investigate the causes behind this calamity to prevent similar incidents in the future, stating, “We must work to understand what caused this accident so we can prevent something like this from happening again.”

Additionally, the Mississippi Department of Transportation reported that an inspector was present at the construction site at the time of the collapse and fortunately sustained no injuries.