Chicago police hunt for six 'trespassers' who were seen perched on edge of bridge AFTER it was lifted up in 'reckless' video stunt

Authorities in Chicago have launched an investigation after learning of a viral video that shows six people casually sitting atop of a raised bridge.

The person who shared the cellphone video on social media on Monday claimed that the Franklin-Orleans Street bridge spanning the Chicago River was lifted while they were walking across it, leaving them stranded.

City officials categorically denied those claims, accusing the people seen in the video of being trespassers and engaging in 'extremely reckless and potentially deadly behavior.'

Terrifying moment group perch themselves on raised Chicago bridge

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A viral video was uploaded to social media on Monday, showing a half-dozen people perched atop a raised Franklin Street bridge in downtown Chicago 

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The person who shared the clip claimed the people in the video were walking across the bridge when it was raised, leaving them stranded - a claim city officials have denied 

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The video shows motorcycles parked at the base of the bridge. The man who shared the recording is the president of a biker club 

The 33-second clip, which was uploaded on Monday, has been shared by multiple Twitter accounts and has been viewed more than 6.3million times.

It opens with a man training the phone on himself and saying, 'Chicago,' before panning the camera to show his companions happily perched atop the bridge.

'Hell yeah, brother,' one of the men in the group enthusiastically exclaims, drawing peals of laughter from a woman.

'We're just chilling,' another companion remarks as the camera pans to the right, showing the other side of the raised bridge over the river glistening more than 100 feet below.

A woman's voice chimes in, saying through laughter that they are 'on a bridge that is raised.'

The person recording the video trains his camera on the breathtaking views opening from every side of the bridge.

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A still photo was shared showing some of the people in the video purportedly descending the bridge 

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The bridge that connects Franklin and Orleans streets in downtown Chicago is controlled by the city's Department of Transportation 

'I think this is incredible, dude,' a woman comments.

The video ends with one of the members of the group grinning and waving at the camera.

The person who tweeted out the clip later shared a still photo showing three of the people purportedly descending from the bridge. The caption read: 'help never came this is them on the way down.'

Michael Claffey, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, which controls bridges in downtown Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times the agency is working with the police department to hold the individuals in the video 'accountable for trespassing.'

The Chicago Police Department confirmed that it is looking into the incident. 

A spokesperson for the City of Chicago told Block Club Chicago, a non-profit news outlet, that officials follow strict protocols when raising the bridges, including ringing a bell and having workers at the scene to make sure the bridges have no pedestrians or vehicles on them. 

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On May 31, the man who uploaded the video shared another recording of himself scaling a downtown Chicago bridge in broad daylight 

The official argued that had the people been walking over the bridge, workers would have seen them because 'there’s nowhere to hide.' 

The video shows what looks like several motorcycles parked at the base of the span.

The person who allegedly recorded the video is a president of the Chicago United Riders, a motorcycle group.

On May 31, he uploaded a video of himself scaling a downtown Chicago bridge by holding onto the guard rails.

The video was titled: 'Follow me for more Quarantine Workouts for more creative ways to stay in shape!'