Baltimore bridge collapses into river after being hit by cargo ship

At around 01:30am local time (05:30 GMT), a 911 caller reported an incident in the Francis Scott Key Bridge area.

Chief Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore City Fire Department confirmed to us that the bridge had been struck by “a large vessel” causing it to collapse into the Patapsco River.

He also told us that “as many as seven individuals and several vehicles” have fallen into the river.

There is now an ongoing multi-agency rescue operation being led by the fire department, collaborating with the US Coastguard and other Maryland agencies.