A major bridge collapsed in the US port of Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday after being struck by a container ship, plunging cars and as many as 20 people into the river below.

Rescuers were searching for survivors in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.

As many as 20 people could be in the river along with “numerous vehicles, and possibly a tractor-trailer or a vehicle as large as a tractor-trailer, (that) went into the river,” Kevin Cartwright, the spokesperson for Baltimore City Fire Department, said as quoted by Reuters news agency.

“This is a mass-casualty, multi-agency event,” he said. “This operation is going to extend for many days.”

Videos circulated on social media showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness. The headlights of vehicles could be seen on the bridge as it crashed down into the water and the ship caught fire. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

Breaking:

A bridge in US city of #Baltimore has entirely collapsed into Patapsco River after being hit by a container ship.

7 people and several vehicles have fallen into the river, says Baltimore City Fire Department. The fire department says a large vessel hit a column of… pic.twitter.com/YxXrj7AiLQ

— Nabeel Shah (@nabeel_AMU) March 26, 2024

Baltimore is the busiest US port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

It was not immediately clear if any other vessels had been damaged or whether operations had halted to and from the port, shipping and insurance sources said.

Source: Agencies