Baltimore bridge collapse: Six still missing after cargo ship lost power and crashed

A massive cargo ship crippled by a loss of power has smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore Harbor, sending vehicles and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the US eastern seaboard.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at least six people were still missing hours after the Singapore-flagged container vessel Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, knocked down a large section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge about 1.30am on Tuesday.

Rescuers pulled two survivors to safety, one of whom was hospitalised, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 2.57km bridge crumpled into the icy water.

The ship reported a power failure before impact, which enabled officials to stop traffic on the bridge before the collapse.

“By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night,” Moore said at an earlier briefing.

The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Moore said.

There was no evidence of foul play, officials said.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene of twisted metal shooting into the sky.

“It was something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you’d see,” he said.

A live video posted on YouTube showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness.

The headlights of vehicles could be seen on the bridge as it crashed into the water and the ship caught fire.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said closure of one of the country’s busiest shipping lanes until further notice would have a protracted impact on supply chains.

The Port of Baltimore handles more automobile cargo than any other US port - more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.

General Motors and Ford Motor will reroute affected shipments, but the companies said the impact would be minimal.

Work crews had been repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapse, and sonar detected vehicles under the water, which was about 15 metres deep at that point, Maryland Secretary of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said.

Eight people were on the bridge, and the governor told reporters that “we still have the six individuals who are missing”.

The 289m vessel had experienced a momentary loss of propulsion and dropped anchors as part of emergency procedures before impact, its management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd reported.

The Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, rammed into one of the pillars of the bridge, Synergy said.

All 22 crew members aboard the vessel were accounted for, it said.

The port’s closure also threatens to disrupt supplies of goods ranging from coal to sugar.

It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the eastern seaboard, experts say.

President Joe Biden said the US Coast Guard responded quickly to the mayday call and commended the fast action of Maryland transportation officials who shut the bridge before it was struck and “undoubtedly saved lives”.

Biden promised to visit Baltimore as soon as possible and said he wanted the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge.

“I’m directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said.

The bridge, named for the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, opened in 1977.

The US Coast Guard reported the collapse at 1.27am and it deployed search and rescue crews after the ship forced the trellis-like bridge up into a mangled mass of metal.

National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators were at the scene but would not board the ship while search-and-rescue operations continued.

The Dali was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk, which said it was “horrified by what has happened in Baltimore and our thoughts are with all of those affected”.

Tuesday’s disaster might be the worst US bridge collapse since 2007, when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people.