Interstate 35W Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis, at least 3 Dead

This is from my neck of the woods, and is a bridge I've driven over approximately 5000 times, so I'm a little freaked out by this:

All four lanes of the Interstate 35W Mississippi River bridge near University Avenue has collapsed into the river and onto businesses underneath the highway at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday.

According to reports from the scene, crews on the Mississippi River are no longer in rescue mode but recovery mode.

Cars are still on the bridge.

According to a structural engineer who spoke with WCCO-TV's Don Shelby, it doesn't appear to be a concrete failure but that the steel failed.

Some people are stranded on parts of the bridge that aren't completely in the water.

I've got some thoughts on this, but tonight is not the time to post it. The good news is that it sounds like the rescue workers did a phenomenal job getting people out of their cars, but there are an awful lot of people who've gone to Hennepin County Medical Center with injuries, so hopefully the news doesn't get worse before it gets better.

UPDATE: Minnesota Monitor has ongoing coverage of the story, as does WCCO-TV. The death toll has reached seven so far.

UPDATE II: Noah Kunin of Blanked-Out watched the bridge collapse, and helped get people off the bridge until he was evacuated. Obviously, this is a must-read post.