Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after being hit by container ship

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US’s Baltimore city collapsed after a large container ship struck it early Tuesday morning.

Following the collapse, multiple vehicles and people plunged into the Patapsco River, southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan area, reports aljazeera.com

The Francis Scott Key Bridge– more than 2.5km (1.6 miles) long and has four lanes– is a major link across harbour city in the northeast US, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation.

According to media reports, the vessel crashed into the bridge at about 1:30am and sank in water after catching fire.

Officials have called the incident a “developing mass casualty event” as the bridge collapsed, sending several vehicles into the water below.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M Scott posted the social media, X, saying that soon after the incident happened, emergency personnel quickly rushed to the spot, and rescue operations were underway.

Meanwhile, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has announced a state of emergency and said on X, known as Twitter, that he has requested federal help.

He said they are working with an interagency team to rapidly deploy federal resources from the Joe Biden Administration.

Emergency agencies started receiving 911 calls with reports that a vessel travelling outbound from Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge, causing it to collapse, said Kevin Cartwright, a director of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

The Maryland Transportation Authority said following the incident on I-695 Key Bridge, all lanes shut in both directions.

The authorities could not clear how many vehicles were on the four-lane road of the bridge during the incident.

Cartwright said over 20 people are feared to be in the water.

According to a live YouTube video, big portions of the spans collapsed into the Patapsco River after a ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Synergy Marine Corp said all crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries.

The authorities are yet to clear immediately if the Baltimore port operations were affected.

According to the Maryland State Government website, the port’s private and public terminals handled 847,158 cars and light trucks in 2023 as well as farm and construction machinery, sugar, gypsum, and coal.