Baltimore Bridge collapse LIVE updates: Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after being hit by cargo ship; major rescue effort under way

Hello and good evening.

Lynette Eyb here, taking over from Catherine to continue our coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in the US city of Baltimore.

Here’s what we know so far about the tragedy:

• A Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, hit a pylon of the 2.57km-long Key Bridge in Baltimore at 1.30am local time (4.30pm AEDT), causing the bridge to collapse.
• The ship was at the beginning of a 27-day journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka when it collided with the bridge.
• Baltimore city fire chief James Wallace said there were likely multiple people on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two people were pulled from the Patapsco River after the collapse. One person was taken to hospital in a “very serious condition”.
• At least seven people are still missing.
• It’s not known yet how many vehicles fell into the river.
• Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has described it as an “an unthinkable tragedy”.
• There is no indication the collision was intentional.
• The bridge is named after Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner. It opened in 1977.

The Key Bridge collapse may bring back terrible memories for anyone with connections to Hobart.

At about 9.30pm on January 5, 1975, the Tasman Bridge over the Derwent River collapsed, killing 12 people and leaving local residents Frank and Silvia Manley dangling off the edge of the bridge in their GTS Monaro.

Moments earlier, the bulk carrier, the Lake Illawarra, hit one of the bridge’s pylons, knocking down a 127-metre span.

Seven people on board the vessel died, along with five motorists who drove off the edge of the bridge and into the Derwent River.

The Manleys lived to tell their story after clambering out of their car to safety.

Frank Manley, who was behind the wheel at the time, still recalls his wife yelling at him to reverse.

You can read the Herald’s report from 2015, which marked the 40th anniversary of the tragedy, here.

The collapse of Key Bridge and the ongoing search and rescue operation is leading to a backlog of vessels outside the port in Baltimore.

At least 10 commercial ships that were sailing to the US port have dropped anchor in waters nearby, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic show.

At least 21 vessels are in waters to the west of the collapsed bridge, raising a question about how easily they’ll be able to get out. About half of them are tugs, but there are also at least three bulk carriers and various other carriers and tankers.

All port traffic has been suspended until further notice.

As we mentioned earlier, the port plays a significant role in shipping in the US. The port, the deepest in the Maryland area, is especially crucial to the car trade. The Baltimore terminals handled some 847,158 cars and light trucks last year – the most of any US port.

It also handles farm and construction machinery, sugar, gypsum and coal, according to a Maryland government website.

Maryland’s transportation secretary, Paul Wiedefeld, has revealed that contractors were known to be working on the bridge at the time of the collapse.

Wiedefeld described the incident at a press conference as a “catastrophic collapse”.

“We know there were individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse working on the bridge, contractors for us,” he said.

Divers were searching the water for survivors, according to the coastguard.

At least seven people are believed to be missing.

ABC TV in the US is reporting that an “unclassified Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report” described the Dali as having “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port.

Crew on the ship had reportedly warned Maryland officials that they had lost control of the ship and that a collision was possible.

We heard from Maryland Transportation Authority officials just a short time ago that the waterway into and out of the port at Baltimore had been closed. No traffic – other than rescue vessels – is allowed access.

The Baltimore port is the second-busiest in the mid-Atlantic.

The Dali is the Singapore-flagged mega container ship that triggered the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The ship was at the beginning of a 27-day journey to Colombo when it collided with one of the bridge’s pylons. It was scheduled to sail on shipping company Maersk’s route to Sri Lanka.

The Dali is 299.9 metres long and 48.2 metres wide. It was built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The registered owner of the ship is Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and the manager is Synergy Marine Group, according to London Stock Exchange data.

All its crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries on board.

It’s worth noting that the container ship at the centre of today’s tragedy also ran into a pier while attempting to leave a port in Belgium in 2016.

The Dali, a mega container ship, collided with a concrete wall at the Port of Antwerp after a mistake made by the ship’s master and pilot, according to a report.

That earlier incident in Antwerp, Belgium was captured on video and shows the container ship sustained minor damage.

The head of the Maryland Transportation Authority, Paul Wiedefeld, is giving a briefing alongside Erin Palmer of the US Coastguard.

Wiedefeld describes the rescue effort as a “tough situation” given it occurred in the early hours of the morning. It’s now almost 7.30am in Baltimore and the collision happened at 1.30am local time.

Palmer says the primary focus is still on search and rescue. Various rescue boats, plus a helicopter are involved in the search for survivors.

Asked about the FBI’s role in the investigation, we’re told the FBI was looking at whether there is any terrorism connection. (We heard during an earlier update that there was nothing yet to indicate the collision was deliberate).

Hello and good evening.

Lynette Eyb here, taking over from Catherine to continue our coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in the US city of Baltimore.

Here’s what we know so far about the tragedy:

• A Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, hit a pylon of the 2.57km-long Key Bridge in Baltimore at 1.30am local time (4.30pm AEDT), causing the bridge to collapse.
• The ship was at the beginning of a 27-day journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka when it collided with the bridge.
• Baltimore city fire chief James Wallace said there were likely multiple people on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two people were pulled from the Patapsco River after the collapse. One person was taken to hospital in a “very serious condition”.
• At least seven people are still missing.
• It’s not known yet how many vehicles fell into the river.
• Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has described it as an “an unthinkable tragedy”.
• There is no indication the collision was intentional.
• The bridge is named after Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner. It opened in 1977.

Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott has expressed his shock at the Baltimore bridge collapse, which he described as “an unthinkable tragedy”.

“It looked like something out of an action movie,” he said of the scene, after a Singapore-flagged container ship hit a pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 1.30am local time, causing it to break and fall into the water.

At a press conference held at the site of the collapse, Scott described the situation as “an ongoing, active rescue”.

“We’re going to continue, and as long as we have to be doing that, we will do it,” he said.

“We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted, [and the] folks who we have to try to find and save. This is what our focus should be on right now.”

The mayor said the city would “continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything that we can, to get us through the other side of this tragedy”.

He also asked people to “first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted”, including first responders.

Baltimore police commissioner Richard Worley ended the press conference by taking questions from reporters over whether the incident could have been more than an accident.

“There is absolutely no indication that there is any terrorism, or that this was done on purpose,” he said.

Police were working with the FBI and other state agencies to gather intelligence but Worley stressed there was no evidence of any foul play.