Main bridge collapses in Washington State, no deaths reported

SAN FRANCISCO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A main highway bridge in the U.S. state of Washington collapsed Thursday evening, dropping a number of vehicles and people into the river below, authorities said.

No deaths were reported and three people were rescued and taken to hospitals, while a dive team and other rescuers had been searching the river till late into the night.

The four-lane bridge, which is on the Interstate 5 highway and about halfway between Seattle and Canada's Vancouver, was built in 1955. It links Seattle with the rest of the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canada.

It wasn't immediately known what caused the collapse, which took place at the start of one of America's busiest holiday weekends of the year.

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