The bodies of two people have been recovered from a red pickup truck which was submerged under the waters where the Baltimore bridge collapsed
An operation to recover the bodies of four more people presumed dead continues, after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city
Two victims of the collision have been named as construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge when it was struck
Investigators have boarded the Singapore-flagged Dali and recovered its data recorder - similar to a black box, officials say
The US Coast Guard says more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil and cargo containing hazardous materials are on the ship, but there is no danger to the public
All 21 crew members, who are all Indian nationals and were not hurt in the crash, are still on board
The bridge snapped and plunged into the Patapsco River on Tuesday, about 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT), after the Dali container ship crashed into it
The vessel had lost power and issued a distress call moments before - but could not change course in time to avoid crashing into the bridge
President Biden has said the US government would cover the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge, but it's not clear how long this will take
Image source, Getty ImagesThere's a new BBC investigation into the container ship crash that brought down Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
If you are in the UK, you can watch it now on iPlayer here.
For those outside of the UK, the programme will be shown on the BBC News Channel across the weekend.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
During the briefing a few hours ago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on when the president will commit to visiting Baltimore; saying only that he will go at an appropriate time.
"He wants to get there as quickly as he can," she said.
This is an approach that the White House has taken in the past - notably after the derailment of a toxin-laden train in East Palestine, Ohio last year.
It's also an approach that has left the White House open to criticism from Biden's political opponents.
Given the highly partisan nature of US politics at the moment, it's possible - perhaps even likely - that some Republicans will seize on these comments to criticise the president.
Earlier, Maryland Governor Wes Moore spoke of how the Baltimore bridge collapse will affect other states.
He said it is imperative the bridge is rebuilt because, as one of the largest ports in the US, its closure is "impacting that farmer in Kentucky, it's impacting that auto dealer in Michigan".
We'll be hearing from Moore again in about an hour's time. He'll be holding a press conference at 17:30 eastern time (21:30 GMT) along with Senator Ben Cardin, Maryland State Police, the US Coast Guard, and the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Maryland governor describes huge economic impact of bridge strike on US
Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify
On Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed that they had found the Dali's voyage data recorder Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) - a very important piece of equipment.
Under UN regulations, every ship above a certain tonnage must have a VDR onboard.
These are sometimes referred to as the ship’s “black box” and they log all sorts of information including the vessel’s position history, speed log, and recordings of radio communications.
They’re kept in protective, tamper-proof storage that’s designed to withstand extreme shock.
Investigators will be using the Dali’s VDR to get a clearer picture of conditions and events before the crash, and discover what went wrong.
Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC
When the Key Scott bridge collapsed early on Tuesday morning, there were six workers on it, repairing potholes, who are now missing and presumed dead.
The men were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - countries often mentioned at the heart of America's immigration crisis and often blamed for contributing to US drugs and crime.
Rhetoric such as former President Donald Trump's remarks at a rally in New Hampshire in December, when he said immigrants coming into the US were "poisoning the blood of our country", underpins the negative stereotypes Latin American immigrants face - and defies the reality of the lives of the six men on Key Scott bridge and so many others, rights groups say.
US migrant workers often taken dangerous jobs and "do not deserve to be treated" the way "irresponsible and insensitive politicians" in the US sometimes do, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday.
Baltimore resident Susan Vargas told the BBC hours after the tragic incident: "Every time there is a tragedy, it's immigrants, mostly Latinos.
"We are the ones that do this sort of work."
This pattern also revealed itself during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when black and brown Americans deemed essential workers died at disproportionate rates.
Gary O'Donoghue
Washington correspondent in Baltimore
I'm out here on the water just a few hundred metres from the stricken Dali ship as it lays under part of the bridge.
It's eerily quiet, the rain is falling, the water is a little choppy and you know under the surface divers and robotic cameras are looking for the bodies of those who lost their lives.
It's a huge tragedy for this city and it's going to have a huge commercial impact as the Port of Baltimore, one of the biggest in the United States, will stay closed for weeks, if not months.
The US has seen bridge collapses before the Francis Scott Key Bridge's fall in Baltimore on Tuesday.
Images dating back to 1980 reveal the scale of damage from other incidents where shipping vessels collided with a bridge, killing multiple people.
In most cases, it took years to rebuild. Here's a look back.
A look at past US bridge collapses after a vessel collision
Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter
While several analysts foresee a big impact to the automotive industry, several of the world's biggest carmakers - who use the port to import and export vehicles to the US - are playing it down... for now.
Speaking from the New York International Auto Show, which starts today, the Chair of Nissan Americas, Jérémie Papin told the BBC: “For us, in terms of business, we have been happy users of the Baltimore port, we have been re-routing our ships to other ports in the east coast and, so, we think there will be minimal, if any, impact to our business in the near term.”
Germany’s Volkswagen, which has six production facilities in the US, said that across its brands, there were approximately 100,000 vehicles sent through Baltimore last year - however its facility is on the ocean side of the Francis Scott Key Bridge which means it’s not expecting any impact to shipments.
However it did tell the BBC: “There may be trucking delays as traffic in the area will be rerouted”.
Meanwhile the world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, said that “there will be some impact, primarily on vehicle exports” but its not currently expecting significant disruption.
All together the port handled a record 847,158 cars and light trucks last year, which the Governor of Maryland’s office says was more than any other US port for the 13th consecutive year.
Dean Croke said that he expects the automotive industry to be most affected
Dean Croke is a principal analyst for DAT Freight & Analytics, which provides transportation and freight exchange services in the US.
He told the BBC that there will be "a short-term spike in certain commodities".
"There will be some disruption, certainly in the automotive sectors, as it's the biggest port in the country for automobiles."
Croke adds that in the trucking industry, Baltimore is the largest port for roll-on roll-off equipment and that March is the month where overseas imports peak.
"We're right in the season for summer crops, planting season, so there's a lot of movement of agricultural equipment and construction equipment that comes into Baltimore."
He explains that he thinks there will be "an acute impact on supply chains" and that the automotive industry will be significantly disrupted.
Watch: analysis of Baltimore bridge collapse
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.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
With Buttigieg and Gautier now no longer in the room, today's briefing has largely moved on to other matters.
The atmosphere was at times more jovial than one would expect - at one point, reporters in the room and those behind the podium shared a laugh about the vice admiral potentially taking on a politically-focused question.
But members of the White House's often combative press corps also, to me, seemed exasperated at the fact that the White House declined to answer many of their questions, particularly about timelines, costs and potential regulatory changes.
Several shouted questions at the two men as they walked off stage to the left of the podium.
A few sighed, loudly.
But stay with us as we'll continue to bring you the latest lines throughout the day.
Image source, Getty ImagesGautier says crews assessing how debris will be removed, both above and below the water, are having to work with sensitivity.
He says the recovery operation of the victim's bodies is being handled by the state, and both crews are working in the same area.
Image source, Getty ImagesButtigieg is asked about the estimated economic impact of the collision and each day the port remains closed.
He says about 8,000 jobs are affected and "$100m-200m (£79m-£160m) of value comes through that port every day".
Buttigieg adds there is about $2m in wages at stake and that's one of the areas "they are most concerned about".
"For these workers if goods aren't moving they aren't working."
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
We've also been hearing from US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, who has highlighted the "highest priority" is restoring the waterway, as well as stabilising the vessel.
The operation will be conducted in conjunction with the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Dali, he added, still has 47 cargo containers on-board - some with hazardous materials - as well as significant quantities of fuel.
"We have teams on board," he said, adding the ship operator has also activated its own salvage plan to refloat and remove the vessel.
So far, there has been no mention of potential timelines or coast associated with the clearance effort.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
At the White House, it's clear the focus has now shifted to the economic impact of the closure of the port of Baltimore, even as the search continues for the remains of the six missing.
At the outset of his remarks, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg quickly pivoted to the steps being taken to coordinate the supply chain.
Tomorrow, Buttigieg says he plans to meet with business leaders to iron out any issues while the port is cleared.
The bridge "was not made to withstand" an impact of the kind it experienced yesterday, he added, noting the bridge is decades old.
"We're going to work with them every step of the way to rebuild this bridge," he added. "But it's not going to be simple."
Gautier says there are about a dozen ships stuck in the port, unable to leave.
"The majority of those are foreign flagged vessels, typical of what we see in the Port Of Baltimore, dry bulk carriers, car carriers and a number of maritime administration ships," he tells reporters.
Vice Admiral Gautier says the main challenge, as we can see by the imagery coming from the scene, is removing the trusses and steel off the bow of the ship.
He says once that happens, the underwater survey can be completed and how the vessel is connected to the bridge pier can be determined, allowing crews to carry out what is necessary to refloat the ship and remove it.
Image source, Getty ImagesPeter Gautier is being asked about the crew from the vessel and if they are still on board, to which he says they remain onboard.
"They are still there and very much engaged in the dialogue and the investigation."
Describing the scale of the disaster, Buttgieg says it is "difficult to overstate the impact of the collision".
"It's not just as big - it's really as big as a block, a hundred thousands tonnes all going into this pier, all at once."