A parking deck in midtown Atlanta, Georgia, partially collapsed Monday afternoon, crushing dozens of cars, authorities said.

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Bobby Stewart told reporters that a section of the deck collapsed from the 4th floor, falling onto the 3rd, 2nd and 1st floors, as well as the basement.

Emergency personnel responded shortly after 12:30 p.m. eastern time (1630 GMT) at the Centergy Parking garage on the Abercrombie place between Spring and Williams streets in midtown Atlanta.

Authorities said roughly 35 vehicles were damaged and that a structural engineer was being called to the scene.

There has been no reports of any injuries so far while search and rescue crews are combing through the area.

About 50 firefighters are at the scene, waiting until they determine if the garage was safe to enter.

The site is connected to an education, research and business complex built by Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, and is close to a book store and a gym frequented by the university's students.

Though the parking facility is not on the Georgia Tech campus, approximately 135 spaces within the deck are leased to Tech employees.

TV footages showed that a section of at least one floor of the multi-floor deck collapsed. Cars could be seen piled on top of each other.

Police asked drivers to avoid the area, as nearby streets remain closed overnight and possibly Tuesday.

"I was driving in the parking deck and I saw the deck collapsing. I saw concrete and cars falling," said Matt Jones, a witness, told WSBTV, a local TV station.

Then he jumped out of his vehicle and ran into a nearby stairwell.

"I left my car sitting there," said Jones.

"I was walking out, there was boom, lots of air, lots of dust everywhere," another witness said.

Hardin Construction, the same company fined in connection with the collapse of a pedestrian walkway at the Atlanta Botanical Garden last year, built the Centergy Parking deck that collapsed Monday, according to city of Atlanta records.

One worker was killed and 18 others were injured in the ordeal.

Source: Xinhua