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Feds Mum On Subject Of Schuylkill River Underwater Search

By Molly Daly, Walt Hunter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An FBI team has been searching the Schuylkill River around the Falls Bridge, in the city's East Falls section.

Authorities won't say what they're searching for or why.

FBI spokesperson Carrie Adamowski says the search is being conducted by the bureau's Underwater Search and Evidence Team, also known as USERT. It's one of four such specialized teams the agency uses to find submerged evidence as large as an airplane engine or as small as a bullet.

The team that was searching the Schuylkill is from the FBI's New York division, and was involved in the investigation after US Airways flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River in 2009. USERT divers also assisted in the probe of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2007.

surprised neighbors gathered on the bridge to watch.

"It is a little surprising to see the FBI," said one neighbor.

Divers spent eight hours searching the Schuylkill River.

Stay tuned to KYW Newsradio 1060 and CBSPhilly.com for updates on this developing news story.

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