Three people have been arrested in connection with a fire that collapsed an elevated portion of a major road in Atlanta and shut down the heavily travelled route through the heart of the city.

The major link between the US and Canadian sides of the Pacific Northwest region was severed after a bridge collapsed, dumping a handful of vehicles and people into a river, police said. All three people who were on the span were rescued and taken to hospitals.

The major highway bridge linking Seattle with Canada and the rest of the Pacific Northwest region collapsed, dumping vehicles and people into a river.

US President George Bush got a firsthand view today of the devastation at the site of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.