© Karl Merton Ferron/StaffThe Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed overnight after being struck by a ship in the early morning of Tuesday, March 26.
A spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department said a major rescue operation was underway with all lanes closed and with all traffic being rerouted from the 1.6-mile steel bridge that is part of Interstate 695.
"The entire bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River," said Kevin Cartwright, the director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department.
"We have reason to believe that there were vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer" that went into the water, Cartwright said.
He said authorities were searching for at least seven people in the water as of 3 a.m. but the number of vehicles that may have been impacted or traveling on the bridge is unknown.
A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the 948-foot cargo ship Dali struck the bridge at approximately 1:20 a.m. In video from the incident, black smoke can be seen from the vessel.
"We are deploying assets in response," said Petty Officer First Class Matthew West, including two response boats from Curtis Bay and one from Annapolis. A helicopter was also deployed to assist in the "search and rescue."
West said he had no additional information on the Dali, a Singapore-flagged ship, including whether officials had been in contact with the ship since the collision or its current status.
The ship was built in 2015 and arriving from Norfolk, Virginia, according to Vessel Finder, a ship tracking website. It departed from the Port of Baltimore around 1:00 a.m. and was headed for Sri Lanka, according to MarineTraffic, a separate tracking website.
The National Data Buoy Center reported water temperatures in that area of the Patapsco were about 49 degrees at 4 a.m. The air temperature was 41 and winds were light.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a social media post that he was aware of the incident, and was in contact with Gov. Wes Moore and local officials. Scott said he was heading to the scene.
"Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are underway," Scott said on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
The Key Bridge, which opened in 1977 after five years of construction and cost an estimated $110 million, is named for the writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The bridge is one of the Baltimore harbor's three toll crossings.
The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023, according to a Maryland state government report issued last November.
Comment: It probably doesn't need to be pointed out that the symbolism apparent in the "Star-Spangled Banner" going down is rather poignant.