The Francis Scott Key Bridge, in Baltimore, a city in the USA, collapsed this Tuesday morning (26) after being hit by a large ship, according to video obtained by CNN .
All traffic is being diverted, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) said, and it is unclear if anyone was injured.
Rescuers are searching for at least seven people in the Patapsco River after several vehicles plunged into the water, a Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman told The Associated Press.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a social media post that he was on his way to the “incident” on the bridge.
“Emergency personnel are on scene and efforts are ongoing,” he added.
Video of the collision shows a towering boat heading directly toward one of the bridge's support columns before colliding with it, causing a huge section of the bridge to fall into the water below within seconds.
The impact immediately caused adjacent parts of the bridge to collapse.
See the moment of the collision:
The accident sent large clouds of smoke and fire into the air and part of the bridge appeared to collapse in front of the boat, video footage showed. Dark smoke continued to rise into the air for several minutes.
The 2.5-kilometer, 4-lane bridge spans the Patapsco River and serves as an outer crossing of the Port of Baltimore and an essential link to Interstate-695, or the Baltimore Beltway.
LSEG ship tracking data shows a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, at the location along the Key Bridge where the accident occurred.
The vessel's registered owner is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, LSEG data shows.
Synergy said it would issue a statement regarding the incident. Reuters was unable to immediately reach Grace Ocean for comment.
(With information from CNN's Melissa Alonso and Elizabeth Wolfe; and Reuters)
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
