The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, a US city in the state of Maryland on the east coast, collapsed early Tuesday after being struck by a large ship, US media reported, video of the incident at the support.
Lanes are closed in both directions due to an “incident” on the bridge and traffic has been redirected, the Maryland Transportation Authority said on the social network X.
Possible that people fell into the river
Baltimore police told NBC it was possible people fell into the river. “I can confirm that at 1:35 a.m. Baltimore City Police were notified of a partial collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and that workers may be in the water,” a spokeswoman for police, Niki Fennoy.
Video of the collision shows a large boat heading directly towards one of the bridge’s columns before hitting it. The accident caused large plumes of smoke and fire.
Shipping traffic tracking site MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship named Dali stopped under the bridge early Tuesday. All traffic is being diverted, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) said, according to CNN. This four-lane bridge spans the Patapsco River and serves as a passageway for the Port of Baltimore.