A man sits on the roof of his car awaiting rescure after the bridge collapse. Image by C0d3Fr0sty
A section of a road bridge over the Skagit River in the US state of Washington, collapsed into the river around 19:00 local time throwing cars and people in the water below.
Rescue teams quickly arrived with floodlights illuminating the evening sky as a helicopter searched for people from the sky and divers searched the water.
Officials have said that three people have been rescued from the river, and there were no fatalities.
The four-lane car bridge is part of the Interstate 5 highway, and a main route between Seattle and the Canadian city of Vancouver.
The cause of the collapse is not yet clear, but there are unconfirmed reports of a truck was too tall for the bridge and struck a beam. Washington State Trooper Mark Francis said:
“An 18-wheeler commercial motor vehicle with a very large container appears to have struck part of the bridge at some point…We cannot say at this time if this was prior to the collapse or is the cause of the bridge collapse.”
