Baltimore's main bridge collapsed after being hit by a ship

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after a container ship collided with it early Tuesday.

As many as seven people may have fallen into the water after the incident, according to Baltimore City Fire Chief James W. Wallace. Two people were rescued, and one of them was taken to the trauma center in very serious condition.

The bridge carries Interstate 695 across the Patapsco River, southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

The accident involving the large container ship occurred at about 1:30 a.m. Eastern time, while contractors were working on the bridge, according to Paul Wedefeld, Maryland's Secretary of Transportation.

Wiedefeld said the incident is an active search and rescue mission and vessel movement to and from the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice.

“This is a very large incident, involving a very large area,” Wallace said at a news conference.

The head of the fire department said that sonar scans revealed the presence of submerged vehicles, but he was unable to reveal the number of vehicles involved.

“The latest information we have on the ship’s crew is that they are still on board,” Wallace said, adding that salvage agents must first conduct an assessment of the damage to the ship before they can board it. In response to a question about whether the ship was suffering from any technical faults, he said: “We do not have this information.”

“There is absolutely no indication that there was any terrorism, or that this was done intentionally,” a Baltimore police spokesman said during Tuesday's news conference. “There is absolutely no indication that this was intentional.”

The bridge was completed in 1977 and is named after Francis Scott Key, whose poem was the basis of the American national anthem.

The ship that struck the bridge has been identified by the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The U.S. Coast Guard confirms the vessel is the 948-foot DALI vessel,” Matthew West of the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News. “The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed three response boats, and pollution responders are on their way from the Maryland-National Capital Region sector.” .

Shipping data indicates that the Singapore-flagged container ship is under the management of Synergy Marine Group, which said in a statement that the fate of all 22 crew members, including two pilots, had been determined.

“Although the exact cause of the incident has not yet been determined, DALI has now mobilized a qualified individual incident response service,” the group said. “The U.S. Coast Guard and local officials have been notified, and the owners and managers are fully cooperating with federal and state government agencies under an approved plan.”

Marine traffic data indicates that the ship was heading to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Maersk later confirmed the chartering of the vessel.

“We can confirm that the container ship 'DALI', operated by ship charter company Synergy Group, is chartered by Maersk and carrying cargo for Maersk customers. There were no Maersk crew or personnel on board,” the company said.

“We are closely following the investigations by the authorities and Synergy, and will do everything we can to keep our customers informed.”

The Maritime and Ports Authority of Singapore said in a statement that it “will provide full cooperation to the US Coast Guard in its investigations.”

Maryland Governor Wes Moore's office said emergency personnel remained at the scene after the bridge collapsed.

“I have declared a state of emergency here in Maryland and are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden administration,” the governor said.

“We will remain in close contact with federal, state and local entities conducting rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy.”

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that the Francis Scott Key Bridge carries Interstate 695 and crosses the Patapsco River.