The major Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore near Washington has collapsed after a ship crashed into it, the Department of Transportation for the state of Maryland and several US media outlets reported on Tuesday.
The Baltimore City Fire Department told the US broadcaster CBS News that "at least seven people" were in the river and dive and rescue teams were at the scene to locate the individuals.
Citing the US Coastguard and the fire department, the New York Times and CBS News reported that the first emergency calls were received at around 1:30 am (0530 GMT).
CBS News cited the coastguard as saying the vessel was the 290-metre Singapore-flagged cargo ship Dali apparently en route from Baltimore to Colombo in Sri Lanka that had collided with the bridge.
It was unclear how many vehicles were on the four-lane motorway bridge at that time, but fire officials said "there was surely a large tractor-trailer" on it.
"I'm aware of and en route to the incident at the Key Bridge," Mayor Brandon M Scott posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "Emergency personnel are on scene, and efforts are under way,"
The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a major link across the harbour of the metropolis in the north-east of the US. According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, it is more than 2.5 kilometres long and has four lanes.
There were initially no reports of deaths or injuries.
