A major bridge in the US city of Baltimore has collapsed into the Patapsco River after a container ship crashed into it
The US Coast Guard said six people who were on the bridge are presumed dead and search and rescue efforts have been called off
The bridge snapped and plunged into the water at about 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT) along with vehicles and people
The ship is now wedged into debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is 3km (1.6 miles) long and part of a major highway
It suffered a "power issue" and issued a distress call moments before the crash, officials say, but was travelling too quickly to change course
Maryland Governor Wes Moore says the bridge will be rebuilt "in a way that remembers the people this tragedy has impacted"
President Biden has said his government will cover the "entire cost" of rebuilding the bridge and getting the port functioning again
A press conference with the Baltimore Fire Department is starting now.
You can tune in by pressing Play at the top of this page, and we will bring you all the updates right here.
Katie Silver
Reporting from Singapore
The press officer handling communications for Synergy Marine Group, which operated the vessel that crashed into the bridge, tells the BBC it was an all-Indian crew with 22 people on board.
Pat Adamson says there was a scratch on the head of one crew member but no injuries.
Two members of the company’s US team are heading to Baltimore to investigate - from Miami and Oklahoma.
Adamson said it was unusual to have an incident like this with two pilots on board and it could have been caused by a myriad of reasons.
Shipping giant Maersk has just confirmed the ship was charted by Maersk and was carrying its customer's cargo.
"We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," it says.
"We can confirm that the container vessel “DALI”, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo."
It adds that no Maersk crew or personnel were onboard.
"We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed."
The owners of the Singapore-flagged container ship called DALI which collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore this morning have released a statement.
They say the vessel collided with one of the pillars of the bridge and that there are no reported casualties of their crew.
"All crew members, including the two pilots have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. There has also been no pollution."
There are no confirmed details of how the collision took place but the DALI owners have said it has "mobilised" a response service and is "fully cooperating with Federal and State government agencies".
What caused this incident is still unclear, but BBC Verify has been looking at video of the collision and the Dali's travel history on ship tracking platform MarineTraffic.
The container ship set off from Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal at around 00:24 local time (04:24 GMT) on 26 March.
Its speed steadily increased and it maintained a straight route south east along the Patapsco River.
Then at 01:25 MarineTraffic data shows that the ship suddenly diverted from its straight course and began to slow down.
Around this time, video shows that all lights on the exterior of the ship suddenly turned off and smoke began emanating from the ship's funnel.
The Dali then hit a portion of the bridge at 01:28, causing it to collapse.
Governor Wes Moore has declared a state of emergency in Maryland following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Moore says: "We are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration."
He thanks the "brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone’s safety".
He goes on to say he will remain in close contact with with federal, state, and local entities that are carrying out rescue efforts as they continue to "assess and respond to this tragedy".
The FBI and officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), are now on the scene assisting local authorities in investigation, reports the BBC's US partner, CBS.
The US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has just released the following statement, in which says he is offering his department's support to the local authorities.
"I’ve spoken with Governor Moore and Mayor Scott to offer USDOT’s (United States Secretary of Transportation) support following the vessel strike and collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge.
"Rescue efforts remain underway and drivers in the Baltimore area should follow local responder guidance on detours and response."
For those of you just joining us, Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed in the early hours after a container ship collided with it, and as many as 20 people may be in the water.
Kevin Cartwright, director of communications of the Baltimore City Fire Department, now says temperatures around the port are around 30 °F (-1°C), where a team of divers are carrying out search and rescue operations.
The Dali ship crashed into the bridge at around 01:30am (05:30GMT) local time
Image source, EPAThe Francis Scott Key Bridge can be seen in the water after it collapsed when a container ship ran into it
Image source, ReutersEmergency personnel are operating at the scene
Data from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking platform, shows a lot of congestion in the area around the bridge, with increased traffic of anchored vessels further south, between the city of Annapolis and Kent Island.
The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is the largest port in the US for specialised cargo (specifically for wheeled cargo, such as trucks and trailers) and bulk handling facilities.
It is estimated that around 800,000 vehicles passed through the port in 2023, moving a record 1.3 million tons of imported cargo.
Image source, .This graphic shows the pillar that the ship struck, causing the collapse
As well as bringing you text updates on the bridge collapse, you can see what's happening from around the scene live by clicking Play on our stream at the top of this page.
It's coming up to 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT) in Baltimore, Maryland, and several search agencies are at the scene to rescue up to 20 people from the water.
The temperature in Baltimore Harbour is currently 9C (48F), according the US National Data Buoy Centre.
According to the NHS, hypothermia can occur when a person's body temperature drops below 35C (normal body temperature is around 37C).
We've just been hearing from Ian Firth, a structural engineer and bridge designer.
He says a heavy ship like the Dali will impart a very large load of many thousands of tonnes when it hits something solid, such as a bridge support.
"The support is a very, relatively, flimsy structure when you look at it, it's a kind of trestle structure with individual legs", he says. "So, the bridge has collapsed simply as a result of this very large impact force."
The vessel should have been going, of course, down the centre of the channel some 350 metres (1,150ft) wide, Firth says, "but for whatever reason it must have strayed off and has hit the support".
Image source, ReutersA large tractor-trailer was on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed, the Baltimore City Fire Department tells the BBC's US partner, CBS News.
The department says there was lots of diesel fuel in the water around the ship that struck the bridge.
It adds that "the dive and rescue team has arrived on scene to locate the individuals" in the water - its last update said up to 20 workers were believed to have fallen into the river.
Simon Jones
Senior reporter
This is clearly a major incident developing, and has prompted a major response from the emergency services.
It was at about 1:30am local time that a large container ship hit this bridge and then really, the pictures tell the story - the bridge completely collapsed into the river below.
We understand the container ship is actually flagged in Singapore. Often container ships have flags from different countries - it doesn't necessarily mean they're from that country, but it's from where they are overseen.
This has been declared as a mass casualty incident - that really gives us a sense of the seriousness of the situation.
Authorities don't declare an incident to be a mass casualty event unless it is extremely serious.
Shipping company Synergy Marine Group confirms that its Singapore-flagged container ship 'Dali' has collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
"Whilst the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the 'Dali' has now mobilised its Qualified Individual Incident response service," it says.
All crew members, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries, it adds.
We have more footage now, this time taken by a witness in the aftermath of the Baltimore bridge collapse.
Panning his camera over the area where bridge formerly stood, Bobby Gattus says: "If you want to know what the 'bang' was, a ship hit the [Francis Scott] Key Bridge.
"The bridge is gone. Holy hell."
Witness video shows aftermath of Baltimore bridge collapse
As many as 20 workers are believed to have fallen into the Patapsco River following the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse, says Baltimore City Fire Department communications chief.
He says the situation is likely to change as more details emerge.
Moment Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses
We can now bring you footage of the moment that Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed.
A large vessel collided with the bridge at around 01:30 local time (05:30 GMT), causing the full length of the structure to give way and plunge into the water.
Image source, LSEGThe Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore was struck by the Singapore-flagged Dali container ship, according to ship tracking data.
The vessel is 300m long and was on its way to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
On marine radars, the Dali departed from the terminal at Port Breeze at around 12:45am ET (4:45am GMT).
It travelled towards the Francis Scott Key Bridge but became stationary at the site of the bridge 45 minutes later.
Air traffic radars show that police helicopters have been circling the area repeatedly.