Baltimore bridge falls after ship collision

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early on Tuesday, causing several vehicles to fall into the river below, where rescuers are searching for several people.

The vessel appears to have hit one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the roadway to break apart in several places and plunge into the water, a video posted on X shows. The ship caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

“This is a dire emergency,” Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press (AP). “Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people.”

Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Cartwright said, though he said it was too early to know how many people were affected.

He also said some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that, along with the Port of Baltimore, is a hub for shipping on the United States East Coast. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The StarSpangled

Banner.”

Agencies received emergency calls at about 1:30 a.m. reporting that a ship leaving Baltimore had struck a column on the bridge, Cartwright said. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck.

From a vantage point near the entrance to the bridge, jagged remnants of its steel frame were visible protruding from the water, with the on-ramp ending abruptly where the span once began.

The ship is called “Dali,” Cartwright said. A vessel by that name was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo as its final destination, according to Marine Traffic and Vessel Finder. The ship was flying under a Singaporean flag, WTOP radio station reported, citing Petty Officer Matthew West from the Coast Guard in Baltimore.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. posted that emergency personnel were responding and rescue efforts were underway.

“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.