Baltimore bridge collapse: Chilling video shows ship collision, vehicles plunging into river

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after a large ship collided with it. (File)

Struck by a massive container ship, a bridge in Baltimore, US, collapsed into the water swinging over a dozen cars and 20 people into the river on Tuesday. A catastrophic video captured the chilling moment when a towering container ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key bridge's foundation, with sections of the bridge crumbling and plummeting into the turbulent waters of the Palapsco River below.

CNN reports that a search is on for the missing people flung into the river during the incident that occurred at around 1:35 am.

Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore Fire Department revealed to the Baltimore Sun, "We have reason to believe that there were vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer that went into the water."

Videos of the accident shared on social media have been watched millions of times.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship; a Mass Casualty Incident has been Declared with over a Dozen Cars and many Individuals said to… pic.twitter.com/SsPMU8Mjph

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 26, 2024

Authorities believe the “entire bridge” may have collapsed and asked commuters to avoid the area.

The Francis Scott Key bridge, a vital artery in Baltimore's transportation network, stretches over 2.6 km and has over 11 million vehicles cross annually.

Ship monitoring website MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali stopped under the bridge early Tuesday, news agency AFP reported.