Officials say a bridge in Mount Vernon, Wash., collapsed Thursday night forcing people and moving vehicles into the water below, according to ABC News.
Both ends of the Interstate 5 bridge—which stood over the Skagit River—were laying in the water, as rescue teams descended upon the scene. The bridge is located approximately two hours from Seattle.
A tweet from Washington State Trooper Mark Francis read:
N/B and S/B lanes of I-5 Skagit River Bridge collapsed. People and cars in water.
According to the Associated Press, the collapse—which took up about four lanes—happened at about 7 pm.
According to KOMO-TV in Seattle, an ABC News affiliate, a man named Xavier Grosper said he spotted three cars in the river. Grosper, who lives close to the river, said there was about one person per vehicle and they were sitting either on top of the cars or out of the windows.
Rescue crews tended to a partly-submerged car and truck.
Bart Treece of the Washington State Department of Transportation could not say for sure when the bridge had its last inspection.
"All of our bridges in the area are pretty old," he explained.
According to information from the Federal Highway Administration, the bridge was not suspected to have structural issues that would cause a collapse. However, the building was listed as “functionally obsolete.” This meant the bridge’s design was not up-to-date. For example, it may have a low clearance or narrow shoulders.
According to an analysis done by the Associated Press, the bridge had a sufficiency rating well below the state average. The bridge’s rating was 57.4 out of 100. The state average is 80. However, 759 bridges in the state have ratings below 57.4.
As of right now, there are no reports of any injuries.
