Bridge in US city of Baltimore collapses after ship hits it, sending vehicles into water

WASHINGTON: A major bridge in the US city of Baltimore has collapsed after a large ship collided with it, sending multiple vehicles into the water.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning local time a large vessel crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge, catching on fire and causing multiple vehicles to fall into the Patapsco River below, according to a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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

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

"Please pray for those impacted," Mr Olszewski said.

Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told the Associated Press at about 3am local time.

He said agencies received 911 calls at about 1:30am, reporting a vessel travelling outbound from Baltimore that had struck a column on the bridge, causing it to collapse.

Multiple vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a large truck.

Data from marine tracking websites show the vessel involved is the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dali, which had left Baltimore Port just before the collision.

"Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people," Mr Cartwright said.

He said it's too early to know how many people were affected but called the collapse a "developing mass casualty event".

Mr Cartwright said it appears there are "some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge," creating unsafe and unstable conditions, and that emergency responders are operating cautiously as a result.

"This is a dire emergency," he said.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977.