Mass casualty event' as Baltimore Key Bridge collapses
A bridge in the US city of Baltimore has entirely collapsed into the Patapsco River after being hit by a container ship
Up
to 20 people and several vehicles have fallen into the river, says
Baltimore City Fire Department who are currently at the scene
The fire department says a large vessel hit a column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at around 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT)
Videos on social media appear to show the bridge entirely descending into the water
A number of casualties have been reported and there is now a large multi-agency rescue and recovery operation under way
A
large tractor-trailer was on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it
collapsed, the Baltimore City Fire Department tells the BBC's US
partner, CBS News.
The department says there was lots of diesel fuel in the water around the ship that struck the bridge.
It
adds that "the dive and rescue team has arrived on scene to locate the
individuals" in the water - its last update said up to 20 workers were
believed to have fallen into the river.
Shipping
company Synergy Marine Group confirms that its Singapore-flagged
container ship 'Dali' has collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott
Key Bridge in Baltimore.
"Whilst the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the 'Dali' has now mobilised its Qualified
Individual Incident response service," it says.
All
crew members, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been
accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries, it adds.
