What we know about Baltimore bridge collapse

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in 1977. It spanned the Patapsco River and Baltimore harbour. A container ship crashed into the bridge early on Tuesday morning. Between seven and 20 people are believed to be in the river.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency. The bridge was the third longest of its type in the world. The collapse happened at around 01:30 local time (05:30 GMT) on Tuesday. Several people were seen to be on the bridge at the time of the incident.

The bridge is located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay. At 01:50 the first fire department unit arrived on the scene and reported the complete collapse of the bridge. Two people have been pulled from the water, one in a serious condition and one apparently uninjured. The water temperature in the harbour is currently said to be about 9C (48F) The Singapore-flagged container ship Dali was originally built for Greek shipowner Oceanbulk by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.

It is currently operated by the charter vessel company Synergy Group and had been temporarily leased by container shipping giant Maersk. No company personnel were on board at the time. The ship scraped its stern along the quay damaging the hull. There were no reports of injuries or spillages.

The company said there were several possible explanations for the incident but that, with two pilots present, such a crash was unusual. A shipping expert said the crash could have been caused by engine failure, steering failure or generator blackout. The four-lane bridge was part of Interstate 695, the outer ring road around Baltimore city known as the “Baltimore Beltway. It will still be possible to cross Baltimore harbour by tunnel closer to the city, but local authorities have declared a major traffic alert.

Shipping activity in the port of Baltimore will also be severely affected. It is estimated that around 800,000 vehicles passed through the port in 2023, moving a record 1. 3 million tons of imported cargo. Mr Jansen says that while there will be some delays and added costs, from a global perspective the incident will not have a significant impact.