A train derailed and caught fire on a bridge that partially collapsed in Arizona early Wednesday morning.
The fire started after the derailment on the Tempe Town Lake bridge, the Tempe Fire Department told 12 News.
The train was reportedly transporting wood which then caught wood. Lumber also fell from the scene and was spotted burning below.
Neither the cause of the derailment nor the fire were immediately known. Information about those possibly injured was also not immediately known.
Tempe Police took to Twitter just before 7 a.m. local time to update the public on the situation.
“@TempePolice and Tempe Fire are on scene of a train derailment and large fire over Tempe Town Lake,” authorities said, noting that multiple roads near the lake and downtown Tempe were restricted. “Please avoid the area.”
The thick black smoke could be seen for miles, 3TV reports.
Camille Kimball, a woman who rode her bike below the bridge just before the collapse, told 3TV that she “got the fright of her life” when she saw what was taking place.
“Now there’s fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge,” said Kimball. “It looks like a scene from hell, truly. … The flames are intense and the sky is filled with black smoke.”
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