President Biden has wrapped up his update to media.

He said the collapse was a terrible accident, and that the federal government will pay for the bridge to be re-built.

The president did not answer many questions from reporters, saying the current priority was search and rescue for those that are missing.

"The federal government will pay for the entire cost of that bridge," Biden says, but adds that it would require members of congress to approve the spending.

A reporter asks the president if the company that owned the cargo ship that caused the accident should be held responsible for the repair costs.

Biden says: "That could be, but we are not going to wait for that to happen".

The president says it is vital that the bridge is up and running as soon as possible.

The Port of Baltimore, he says, is one of the nation's largest shipping hubs.

"It handled a record amount of cargo last year. It's also the top port in America in both imports and exports of automobiles," he says, adding that 800,000 vehicles go through that port every single year.

He also says 15,000 jobs "depend on that port, and we're going to do everything we can to protect those jobs".

Biden says the search and rescue operation is the "top priority", and the army are on the scene to start removing the wreckage.

"The army Corp of Engineers are going to lead the effort to clear the channel," he says, adding he will be going to Baltimore.

Shipping via the port, one of the busiest in the US has been suspended.

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden is addressing reporters now.

He calls the bridge collapse a "terrible incident," and says he personally had been over the Francis Scott Key Bridge "many, many times" as he commuted from his home state of Delaware.

Biden says that officials estimate six people are unaccounted for, and adds "that number might change".

US President Joe Biden is about to give an update to media on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

You can watch a live stream by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

We've been bringing you photos from the scene since the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early hours of Tuesday.

As the sun rose, the full scale impact of the damage emerged.

To see more images, click here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Iona Hampson
Reporting from Stoney Beach

I'm looking at the scene from the Stoney Beach residential community on the south side of Baltimore Harbour.

In the distance, you can see the cargo ship, its orangey-red containers piled up on its decks and the remnants of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sticking out of the water.

Residents around here say the bridge is a familiar site and it is shocking that it’s now gone.

The temperatures here are low and the water very choppy. Officials say the water temperature itself was about 48°F (9°C) at the time of the collapse.

The tide is coming in which is going to make the search and rescue mission even harder.

There are boats on the water and choppers in the air, and officials are still looking for missing people.

The Embassy of Mexico in the US posted a message on X, external, formerly Twitter, listing emergency phone lines available to Mexican foreign nationals who may have been affected.

The area in Baltimore is home to a sizeable Hispanic population, roughly 6% according to the 2020 US Census Bureau.

In a special episode of Americast, Justin Webb speaks to Justin Fenton from the Baltimore Banner news website.

Fenton says the bridge collapse will cut off the port, causing a huge impact on the city.

He's joined by the BBC’s Tom Bateman, from the scene, and infrastructure safety expert Dr Stergios-Aristoteles, who has an idea what caused the span to collapse so quickly.

Listen on BBC Sounds here.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the White House is "closely monitoring the tragic situation".

"Our thoughts are with the families of the missing and injured," he wrote on X.

Local resident Alice Devilbiss became tearful while talking to the BBC about the bridge collapse.

She said she could hear "crunching and scraping", followed by a big splash, then "a ton of sirens". She said her house shook.

Devilbiss says her husband does roadwork, and it was "scary" to think that the contractors who were fixing potholes on the bridge - and may be among the six missing - could be his friends.

"I hope that they are able to find those people," she said, "and I hope that they are able to give those families peace."

Another resident, Sarah White, also says the collapse rattled her home.

"It shook my house," she said. "It scared the crap out of me."

Watch: The critical moments before bridge collisionpublished at 15:21 GMT 26 March 2024

15:21 GMT 26 March 2024

BBC Verify has analysed the moment of the collision between the Dali container ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The footage shows that the ship’s lights went out in the minutes before the impact.

Here is a summary of what we know so far:

• The Francis Scott Key Bridge snapped and collapsed into the water at around 01:30 local time (05:30 GMT) after a container ship crashed into it
• Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with six people still missing. They are believed to be part of a construction crew that was fixing potholes on the bridge at the time it collapsed
• Two others have been rescued, one of whom is in hospital
• A mayday signal was sent when the ship was approaching the bridge, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said, which stopped cars driving on to the span and "saved lives"
• He said the cargo vessel crew "notified authorities of a power issue" in the moments before it struck
• The governor says the ship, the Dali, was moving at 8 knots, roughly 9mph (15km/h), which he says was "very, very rapid"
• The FBI says there is no credible link to terrorism

• Federal emergency response funds will be released to aid the response
• The Port of Baltimore remains closed to ships, and officials say they are unsure when it will be reopened

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Baltimore

Maryland Governor Wes Moore would not be drawn on one of the most important remaining questions this morning - whether the toll might rise as a result of vehicles in the water.

Authorities said earlier in the day that sonar had detected cars in the Patapsco River, which is about 50ft (15m) deep.

So far, officials believe the two people rescued were all members of a road crew that was working on the bridge.

Officials have stressed they are still in the early stages of their inquiry.

In light of America's well-documented infrastructure problems, one of the questions swirling after the bridge collapse has been whether it had any pre-existing issues.

But the governor just told reporters the span was "fully up to code".

He said road crews seen working on the bridge before the collision were repairing potholes, rather than addressing any structural problems.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Baltimore

We've just heard from Maryland Governor Wes Moore and other senior officials - and it's clear that at the moment there are still many questions unanswered.

We do know that for now the focus continues to be on the search and rescue effort, rather than on what exactly happened and whether it could have been avoided.

The search is ongoing for six people, while one was rescued and is now in hospital. Another person who was involved did not go to hospital. All of them, it appears, were fixing potholes on the bridge when the crash happened.

Moore seemed still to be recovering from the shock. Like many people the BBC has spoken to today, the governor said he was having a difficult time grasping the magnitude of the disaster - saying it "shakes us".

"For 47 years it's all we've known," he said of the bridge. "It's heartbreaking."

Officials have now finished briefing reporters - stay with us as we bring you more updates from the scene.

Governor Moore says the ship was moving towards the bridge at a "very rapid speed".

He said the cargo ship's operators called a "mayday' - an emergency signal - but the vessel's speed appeared to be too fast to avoid the incident.

However, he said the distress call did ensure more cars were stopped from crossing the bridge, averting greater disaster.

"These people are heroes," he said. "They saved lives last night."

Image source, CBS

Asked whether the bridge will be rebuilt, the governor says "we are going to get this done, and not just rebuilt, but built in a way that remembers the people this tragedy has impacted, and honours the community it serves".

"It's going to require every facet and aspect of society," he adds.

He says he can't give "a timing" or a cost estimate as the focus right now is on saving lives.