Homeland Security

MDSU-2 Divers Continue Search and Recovery Efforts

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070809-25
Release Date: 8/9/2007 6:30:00 PM

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Dave Nagle, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs

MINNEAPOLIS (NNS) -- Navy divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek continued efforts in support of search and recovery efforts at the site of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

MDSU-2 divers reentered the waters of the Mississippi River before 7 a.m. on Aug. 8 to continue a meticulous, hand-over-hand search of the area.

The divers completed their search of an area encompassing more than 25,000 square feet, effectively completing 90 percent of the area required to search. Divers also recovered four vehicles from the site.

“The area we searched today included areas under the bridge platforms and I-beams, which were so restrictive that divers had to remove their dive gear to crawl into these areas as narrow as 12 inches,” explained Cmdr. Dan Schultz, commanding officer of MDSU-2.

MDSU-2 is on scene at the request of the Department of Transportation and in support of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

MDSU-2 is part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), a global force provider of adaptive force packages of expeditionary capabilities to joint warfighting commanders. NECC serves as a single manning functional command to centrally manage the current and future readiness, resources, manning, training and equipping of the Navy Expeditionary Force.