A bridge in the US city of Baltimore has snapped and collapsed after a ship collided with one of its support columns. Rescuers are searching the water for survivors and the state’s governor has declared a state of emergency.
Here is what we know so far:
The bridge
Baltimore’s 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge was built out of steel and opened in 1977. With four lanes, the bridge is part of Interstate 695 and served as a major route along the ring road that encircles the city in the US state of Maryland.
It is named after the author of the American national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.
Live video posted on YouTube showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness, with its main section collapsing into the Patapsco River below.
Several vehicles fell into the water, and rescuers were searching for at least seven people.
The ship
Ship-tracking data showed a Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, at the location of the bridge where the accident occurred at about 1.30am ET (5am GMT) on Tuesday.
Calls to the emergency services reported the vessel had been travelling outbound from Baltimore.
The Dali, a 948ft (290-metre) cargo vessel, had left Baltimore at 1am and was headed for the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, according to the maritime data platform MarineTraffic. The shipping company Maersk has said it chartered the vessel.
The Reuters news agency cited the manager of the ship, Synergy Marine Group, as saying the crew, including the two pilots, had been accounted for and there were no reports of injuries onboard.
The port
It was not immediately clear to what extent Baltimore port operations were impacted by the bridge collapse.
The harbour is one of the busiest in the country and an important hub for shipping on the US east coast, especially in transporting road vehicles. It also handles farming, construction machinery and coal, according to a Maryland government website.
Agencies contributed to this report