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Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay announced today that he has appointed a three-man team to investigate the collapse of a footbridge on the East Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina on July 3.
Members of the team left today to confer with James H. Baley, Jr., United States District Attorney at Asheville, No Co, Richard D. Butts, Superintendent of the Cherokee Indian Reservation, and Frank Parker, General Counsel for the Cherokee Indians.
Members of the team are Theodore H. Haas, Acting Assistant Solicitor, Branch of Claims and Contract Appeals; Rodney M. Dunlap, Assistant Chief, Branch of Roads, Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Edward P. Rennie, Chief, Safety Branch, National Capital Parks, National Park Service.
The accident is reported to have been caused by children jumping on the Indian bridge which caused it to buckle and throw about 60 sightseers into the bed of the Oconaluftee River.
