A state of emergency has been declared in Maryland after a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, destroying it within seconds.
Container ship Dali had left port in Baltimore in the early hours of this morning (26 March), departing at around 12:45am local time before colliding with the bridge at near 1:30am.
Footage of the bridge collapsing showed it falling apart within seconds of the Dali making impact.
Rescue services said that 'seven people and several vehicles' had fallen into the water, and later declared a 'mass casualty event' as there could have been more people on the bridge.
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Search and rescue efforts are currently underway in an attempt to get any potential survivors out of the cold water of the Patapsco River.
In a statement made today (26 March) Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and provided an update on the rescue efforts.
He said: "We are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration.
"We are thankful for the brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone's safety.
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"We will remain in close contact with federal, state, and local entities that are carrying out rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy."
Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said that two people had been removed from the water, with one of them essentially 'not injured' while the other was in a 'very serious condition' and had been taken to a local trauma centre.
All crew members of the container ship Dali were accounted for and uninjured in the collision, shipping company Synergy Marine Group announced.
Witnesses to the bridge collapse in Baltimore were astonished by the scale of the destruction, with witness Bobby Gattus filming the aftermath and seeing that there was virtually nothing left of the bridge.
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Baltimore's police chief said the search for survivors would continue 'for some time' and that sonar equipment had detected vehicles in the water.
How many vehicles might have fallen into the river due to the bridge collapse is unknown.
Meanwhile, Chief Wallace said rescuers had not yet had the chance to speak to the container ship's pilot, and they do not yet have any information as to whether the ship which collided with the bridge had suffered a fault beforehand.
Rescue efforts for potential survivors remain ongoing.
Topics:Â Baltimore bridge , US News
Joe Harker