Three people are dead after a vehicle plunged into the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night.
The Metropolitan Police Department told Fox News Digital in an email on Friday morning that it – as well as the Coast Guard and the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department – responded to reports that a vehicle entered the water near the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge at approximately 10:30 p.m. ET.
The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said on Twitter that witnesses reported seeing a vehicle go into the water, and that track marks were located leading to the water.
In a three-pronged search below the bridge – by land, water and air – first responders worked to find the submerged vehicle. They used fireboats and a helicopter.
It was located within half an hour, and police Harbor Division divers and the Fireboats entered the water.
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First responders worked on the ground, in the water and in the air to find the submerged vehicle. (D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department)
A video showed the teams working in the water and, about an hour later, the first occupant was confirmed inside the vehicle.
“Unable to remove the victim at present. Sadly, this will be a recovery rather than a rescue,” D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted.
All three of the deceased were found early Friday morning. (D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department)
Both the second and third victims were located by police divers, with a related tweet posted shortly before 1:30 a.m. ET on Friday.
“MPD’s Harbor Patrol, FEMS, and Coast Guard located a vehicle upside down submerged in the water with a person dead inside the vehicle. Rescue crews also located another adult male and adult female dead outside the vehicle,” the Metropolitan Police Department said.
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Police Harbor Division divers and Fireboats worked to locate the victims. (D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department)
It also remains unclear how the vehicle ended up in the river, and who the deceased are.
“At the time, it is unclear what circumstances led to the vehicle going into the water,” the department noted. “The incident is under investigation by MPD’s Major Crash Unit.”
The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge is seen behind an ambulance and rafts. (D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department)
The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge sidewalk was partially shut down early Friday morning while police investigated, according to NBC 4.
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The station said Friday that at least one boat was still in the water at 5:30 a.m. ET, and that a tow truck with cables had connected to a dark vehicle in an attempt to pull it out of the river.
