MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins played Wednesday night despite a major bridge collapsing in Minneapolis prior to the start of the game.

At about 6:05 p.m. CT, an Interstate 35W bridge near the Metrodome collapsed into the Mississippi River. Cars fell into the water, and the scene was clouded with fire, victims and rescuers.

The club considered canceling Wednesday's contest against the Kansas City Royals but decided to play the game to keep fans inside the Dome instead of sending more traffic into the rescue area.

"We felt as though the responsible thing to do was to play the game for the simple reason that not playing the game would have put 20-25,000 people back on the streets," Twins president Dave St. Peter said. "And we didn't want to do that, in order to allow those first responders to do their job with hopes of rescuing survivors. We felt as though as difficult as it might be, the right thing to do was to play tonight."

The Royals defeated the Twins 5-3 in 10 innings.

The team held a moment of silence before the game, and Twins officials urged fans to stay off their cell phones to keep lines open for those trying to contact loved ones.

The Twins have canceled Thursday night's game against the Royals and have postponed the planned groundbreaking ceremony for the club's new ballpark.

"We didn't think playing baseball tomorrow would be the right thing," St. Peter said.

The Twins will play their weekend series against the Cleveland Indians.