So far, two people have been rescued from the water, and one is in critical condition, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said early Tuesday morning local time.

Mayor Brandon Scott called the incident an “unimaginable tragedy.”

-We have to think about the families and the people affected, and the people we have to try to find. “This has to be our focus now,” he said in a press conference.

Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, declared a state of emergency after the accident, meaning federal resources are being deployed in the rescue operation.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a 2.6-kilometre bridge over the Patapsco River, which more than 11 million vehicles cross each year. The cause of the accident is unknown.

Suddenly the course changed

Video recording The scene shows how the large bridge quickly collapses and ends up in the water after the container ship suddenly changes course and heads straight into the bridge. It is believed that cars and people ended up in the river.

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The accident occurred at approximately 1:30 am on Tuesday morning local time, i.e. 6:30 Norwegian time.

Several hours later, the message came stating that two people had been rescued from the cold water. It was initially said that up to 20 people could have ended up in the water, but that number was later revised to seven. Many vehicles also ended up in the river.

The fire service and the coast guard are participating in the rescue operation.

On the way out of the port

The container ship was on its way out of the Port of Baltimore, heading to Sri Lanka. It is owned by Grace Ocean Private, but operated by shipping company Synergi Marine Group, which is responsible for the crew. Danske Mærsk has chartered the vessel, meaning the vessel carries the goods on behalf of the Danish company.

Shipping company Synergi told Danish newspaper BT that no one on board was injured

The bridge is named after the man who wrote the American national anthem.