A major rescue operation continues in the U.S. city of Baltimore, where a bridge has collapsed after being hit by a container ship. Several people were thrown into the river below and rescue efforts are underway. At least six people are confirmed as missing.

Baltimore

In the U.S. city of Baltimore, a significant incident occurred when a bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship. The catastrophic event resulted in several individuals being thrown into the river below the structure. 

Rescue operations are underway with response teams dedicated to rescuing those affected by the collapse. Currently, there are at least six people confirmed missing as a result of the incident.



State of emergency declared after bridge collapse

The container ship was less than 30 minutes into its 27 day voyage to Sri Lanka when things went horribly wrong. Initial reports say that Dali was heading out to sea just before 1.30am when it lost propulsion, and the crew warned port authorities of a possible collision. It hit the France's Scott Key Bridge, a major transport link for Maryland, the US east coast. It's a shocking sight to see because you've lived your whole life here and you've seen this thing your entire life, and then one day you go outside and it's not there. The bridge and an unknown number of vehicles plunged into the Patapsco River. The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency as the search operation continued hours later. We have a large area that we have to search. This includes on the surface of the water, subsurface, as well as on the deck of the ship itself. Two people were rescued from the water, one with severe injuries. This is an unthinkable tragedy. We have to first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted, those families. We have to pray for our first responders and thank them, all of them working together, city, state, local, to make sure that we are working through this tragedy. The owner of the ship, which is registered in Singapore, says all 22 crew members are safe. Both Baltimore police and the White House say the collision was not connected to any act of terrorism. The port and the surrounding area have been closed. Several government agencies are working to get to the root of what happened, but for now the focus is on the search for any survivors. Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera, Baltimore.

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