Baltimore bridge collapse: US concerned about impact on immediate region

US officials have expressed concern about the implications rippling beyond the immediate region after a key bridge harbouring America’s largest vehicle handling port collapsed in Baltimore when a cargo ship crashed into it, even as experts predicted repercussions to be “modest and mainly localised”.

The 2.6km-long, four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore was destroyed after Dali, a 984-foot cargo ship bound for Sri Lanka, collided against a bridge column in the early hours of Tuesday.

The collapse of the bridge has indefinitely halted the flow of ships in and out of Baltimore Port.