According to media reports, several vehicles fell into the water. A car the size of a truck is also said to have been on the bridge.
Authorities believe there are at least seven people in distress. The dramatic incident occurred in the middle of the night around 1:30 a.m. local time.
A fire department spokesman said: “Our main focus at the moment is rescuing and recovering people.” He said it was too early to know how many people were affected, but called the collapse a developing “mass casualty event.” A rescue helicopter was also in the air over the scene of the accident.
Washington radio station “WTOP” reported, citing a Coast Guard representative, that the container ship involved in the accident was flying the Singapore flag. Accordingly, it was on its way to Sri Lanka.
“All lanes closed in both directions due to an incident on the I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being rerouted,” the Maryland Department of Transportation wrote on Twitter follower X.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott (39) wrote on X: “Emergency responders are on site and the investigation is ongoing.”
The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge was around 2.7 kilometers long and spanned the Patapsco River.
So far there is little information. A video shows the moment of the collapse:
Baltimore: Ship hits bridge! Cars fall into the waterhttps://t.co/6YbcJ2EUhz pic.twitter.com/cyCHDUSVBJ
— NationalTurk (@nationalturkcom) March 26, 2024
Bridge in Baltimore collapses after collision with ship
In the USA, a container ship rammed a bridge and the structure collapsed. The background is still unclear.
Part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed after a container ship collided with it early Tuesday morning.
At around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, reports were received that a large ship crashed into the bridge. Before it sank, it caught fire. The bridge collapsed and several vehicles are said to have fallen into the water.
Highway bridge in the USA collapses after ship collision
In Baltimore, USA, a large bridge collapsed after a collision with a container ship. There are currently no reports of deaths or injuries. The accident happened at night.
Part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, has collapsed after a large ship collided with it. According to a report by WtopNews, several vehicles fell into the water.
According to the New York Times, the vessel is a 280-meter-long container ship that sails under the Singapore flag. The ship had left the port in Baltimore shortly before the crash and was on its way to Sri Lanka.
The almost 50-year-old bridge is around three kilometers long. Interstate 695, a four-lane highway, runs along it. “Several vehicles fell from the bridge at the time of the collapse, ABC News reports, citing the Baltimore City Fire Department. Divers were searching for at least seven people in the water, the department said.
The Maryland Transportation Authority announced on online service X that all lanes of the Francis Scott Key Bridge were closed due to an “incident” and that traffic was being rerouted.
Contractors were working on bridge when it collapsed
We’ve just heard from Maryland’s secretary of transportation, Paul Wiedefeld, who provided an update to reporters along with the US Coast Guard.
Wiedefeld said that there were contractors who were working on the bridge at the time of the collapse, who were “doing some concrete deck repair”.
He added that vessel traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore – with the exception of trucks – has been suspended as the search and rescue mission continues.
Traffic on the I-695 highway, which the bridge is part of, has been detoured.
A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard told reporters that their primary mission right now is to look “for any survivors in the water”.
They have deployed three small boats on the scene, an 87-ft patrol boat, as well as helicopters.
Wiedefeld said there are no confirmed fatalities at this time and also stressed that it is too early in the investigation to know exactly what caused the collapse.
‘The pride and glory, the bridge of bridges’
We’ve been speaking to locals about the impact of this bridge collapse.
Retired structural iron worker Priscilla Thompson became emotional as she described the “horrendous crash” early this morning.
“It shook the entire house. It was catastrophic,” she told the BBC’s Tom Bateman.
“It was a beautiful bridge, so fortified and so straight from every angle, the pride and glory, the bridge of bridges”.
“I just made a birthday card for my husband and drew the Key Bridge in it, that’s how close that bridge was to me,” she added.
“I am devastated”.
Search and rescue efforts visible as sun rises on Baltimore
I’ve just arrived in Dundalk, Maryland, at a park near the collapsed bridge.
In normal times, one would clearly be able to see the bridge from here, but access is being tightly restricted and many of the roads are cordoned off by emergency crews.
The sun is just rising, but the scale of the response is clearly evident. From where I am standing I can see two helicopters circling the area, including a red Coast Guard helicopter.
A rescue boat also just sped by with its emergency lights on, and there’s a trailer from Baltimore County Emergency Management here.
Getting here itself was complicated – on the highway near the bridge, I saw 15 or so tractor trailers parked on the side of the road, presumably waiting to figure out where to go with the bridge collapsed.
Stay with us for more updates from the scene.
15:07 / Contractors were working on bridge when it collapsed
We’ve just heard from Maryland’s secretary of transportation, Paul Wiedefeld, who provided an update to reporters along with the US Coast Guard.
Wiedefeld said that there were contractors who were working on the bridge at the time of the collapse, who were “doing some concrete deck repair”.
He added that vessel traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore – with the exception of trucks – has been suspended as the search and rescue mission continues.
Traffic on the I-695 highway, which the bridge is part of, has been detoured.
A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard told reporters that their primary mission right now is to look “for any survivors in the water”.
They have deployed three small boats on the scene, an 87-ft patrol boat, as well as helicopters.
Wiedefeld said there are no confirmed fatalities at this time and also stressed that it is too early in the investigation to know exactly what caused the collapse.
