ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: A party in Philadelphia came to an abrupt and tragic ending last night, when a pier crashed into the Delaware River. At least three people died, and dozens more were injured, including more than half a dozen firefighters involved in rescue efforts. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pier collapsed at 8:00 Thursday night.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I scampered on top of the bar, and I dove at the water and started clawing at the tarp, and then I was in the middle of the water.</s>FEYERICK: A party was underway at the newly opened dance club, Heat, at Pens Landing. Witnesses say they heard a loud crash.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's on the deck just started falling down. It happened so fast, we were all under water.</s>FEYERICK: Dozens of people plunged into the Delaware River. The canvas canopy came crashing down, covering many in the water.</s>CAPTAIN GREG ADAMS, U.S. COAST GUARD: All of them, obviously, are in some form of shock.</s>FEYERICK: The U.S. Coast guard closed the river to all commercial traffic, as rescue boats plucked more than 40 people from the 60 degree water.</s>ADAMS: Probably, with the conditions, with the warm weather and the water temperature, their survival rate is well in excess of two to three hours.</s>FEYERICK: Police helicopters, using thermal imaging cameras, scoured the debris-filled water. The rising tide and low visibility complicating recovery efforts.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that we've gone through there very, very carefully, but you know and I know that when it's dark, when you have waters where you can't see anything, that anything's possible. So we've been methodical in our search.</s>FEYERICK: Police say it's too early to determine why the pier collapsed, buy say a full investigation will be conducted once everyone is accounted for. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Philadelphia.
Pier Crashes into Delaware River, Killing at Least Three