live from london, this is bbc news. i'm lauren taylor. we begin with breaking news out of the united states. a bridge in the city of baltimore has entirely collapsed after being hit by a container ship. this is the moment it happens — you can see the ship hitting a column of the francis scott key bridge on the left of screen. the bridge quickly collapses. the baltimore city fire department is currently at the scene — its head says as many as 20 works are believed to have fallen into the river. officers have confirmed the incident is being treated as a mass casualty event, after it happened at about 1:30am local time. there is now a large multi—agency rescue and recovery operation under way. the baltimore mayor brandon scott says he is aware of the incident, and is in contact with local authorities. this is where the incident has happened. as you can see, in the eastern

state of maryland, the francis scott key bridge bridge crosses the patapsco river. the bridge is a key transport route in the city — traffic is being diverted throughout. here's a witness briefly describing the scene. you wanted to know what the bang was. ship hit the key bridge. sinking. the bridge is gone. we are seeing some live pictures where rescue workers are still trying to establish the scale of the disaster after the ship hit one of the columns of the bridge and caused it to collapse. the container ship hit the bridge at about 1:30am local time and at least seven people and several vehicles have fallen into the river, according to the baltimore city fire department who are currently at the scene.

let's get the latest with simonjones in the newsroom. what is the latest on the numbers of people that might be affected. absolutely extraordinary pictures, it has prompted a huge response from the emergency services. we were initially told they feared seven people were in the water, along with a number of vehicles, they have no increase that number to up to 20 people feared to be in the water, this is proving to be a hugely challenging rescue operation led by the fire service who described this as a mass casualty event. they have as a mass casualty event. they have a number of challenges, not least as you can see from these live pictures that it you can see from these live pictures thatitis you can see from these live pictures that it is still dark, you can see the emergency services�* blue lights flashing that they are trying to find people in the river below the bridge which has collapsed in the dark, plus also with the challenges that this huge piece of infrastructure has come down. it is a road bridge about three kilometres long, it gives you a sense of the

size of a tongue that present some challenges because they have to make sure that those rescuers going into the water looking for survivors will be safe themselves —— it gives you a sense of the size of the challenge thatis sense of the size of the challenge that is presented. this is being described as a huge event, the eyewitness you just heard from gives you a sense of the shark people are experiencing, a feeling about this. —— a sense of the size of the sack. he heard the container ship going into the bridge, his response was simply disbelief. rescuers had to put aside the initial shock and disbelief and focus on the rescue operation with about 20 people, we are being told, in the water. there were early — are being told, in the water. there were early reports _ are being told, in the water. there were early reports that _ are being told, in the water. there were early reports that the - were early reports that the container ship started to sink. what is happening to the container ship?

the firm which owns that container ship is registered in singapore and we are told it was heading to sri lanka. we are told at the moment that the crew members on board that ship has been accounted for and they are all well and there were no injuries amongst those members of the crew. but the firm that owns this ship says that an investigation will be launched, but i think at the moment there will be lots of questions about how this could have happened. it is a very big container ship, around 300 metres long. how it managed to strike part of the infrastructure and also questions about how this managed to bring the entire bridge down. a bridge like this would have been built to withstand a degree of collisions. there was always the possibility of that. it is a major road infrastructure bridge. we are told

it carries around 11 million passengers, vehicles travel across the bridge each year. questions of infrastructure, i think in terms of the ship itself i think the owners are saying there will be an investigation which they will cooperate fully with but the priority has to be the people in the water, up to 20 people, we are told. the bridge as part of instant —— interstate 695, quite a major piece of infrastructure. tell interstate 695, quite a ma'or piece of infrastructurefi of infrastructure. tell us about the effects it is — of infrastructure. tell us about the effects it is having _ of infrastructure. tell us about the effects it is having on _ of infrastructure. tell us about the effects it is having on the - of infrastructure. tell us about the effects it is having on the area? i effects it is having on the area? around 11.5 million vehicles use that bridge each year, it gives you a sense of how busy and important a part of the road network it is. people in the area are being told to stay away because obviously the now

gone, that major part of the infrastructure, so the roads approaching that bridge have been closed and that is partly to allow easy access for the emergency services who are still heading to the scene. this will be an ongoing and major operation but this will cause big problems in the area, and also the authorities are really urging people to stay away because there is that sense of disbelief, seeing pictures of the bridge coming down, that this could have happened. in a case like this there is a temptation for people to go along because they want to see for themselves what has happened and what is now an empty space where the bridge no longer exists, because it is very hard to comprehend, having seen those pictures, people who live in the area will be extremely shocked but the emergency services are making clear that will not help the situation. the mayor said he was heading to the scene to be briefed first hand and inevitably to check whether the emergency services need

additional resources. the county chief for baltimore, to give you a sense again of the scale of this and the problems it has caused, is asking people to pray for those who have been impacted by the collapse of the bridge. so a sign of what a major incident we are talking about. we are hearing that the water in the harbour could be as low as nine celsius, 48 fahrenheit, and the baltimore harbour, according to the national oceanic administration at, so easy for people to get hypothermia very quickly if they are still in the water. that hypothermia very quickly if they are still in the water.— still in the water. that will be a concern. _ still in the water. that will be a concern. if _ still in the water. that will be a concern, if someone _ still in the water. that will be a concern, if someone goes - still in the water. that will be a concern, if someone goes into | still in the water. that will be a - concern, if someone goes into water around that temperature they may often have minutes to survive, particularly if someone panics. we are told by various safety campaigns that if you unexpectedly fall into water you have to try to remain

calm, but there will be obviously the initial shock of the cold water, and for most people panic will set in so this is very much a race against time, against the clock. in temperatures like that in the dark and cold, inevitably as more time goes on there in the hope of people surviving diminishes. we hope for an update soon from the fire service, they gave us that figure a while ago of around 20 people feared to be in the water, we are unclear whether there have been any successful rescues, but if people have gone in in cars that will complicate the issue but we know the crew of the container which struck this bridge, causing it to come down at about 1:30am local time, the crew have been safely accounted for and the container ship�*s owners say their investigation and recovery team is also en route to the site.-

also en route to the site. simon jones, also en route to the site. simon jones. thank — also en route to the site. simon jones, thank you _ also en route to the site. simon jones, thank you very _ also en route to the site. simon jones, thank you very much, . also en route to the site. simon j jones, thank you very much, we also en route to the site. simon - jones, thank you very much, we will jones, thank you very much, we will come back to you later. ian firth is a structural engineer and bridge designer. he�*s also a former president of the institute of structural engineers. he spoke to my colleague catherine byaruhanga. he said why he thinks the bridge collapsed. 18 he said why he thinks the bridge collased. 'j~ . ., he said why he thinks the bridge collased. 'j~ . . , m he said why he thinks the bridge collased. 'j~ . . , _ he said why he thinks the bridge collased. 'f~ . . , ,, . collapsed. 18 richard struck by a ve larae collapsed. 18 richard struck by a very large vessel _ collapsed. 18 richard struck by a very large vessel like _ collapsed. 18 richard struck by a very large vessel like that - collapsed. 18 richard struck by a very large vessel like that it - collapsed. 18 richard struck by a very large vessel like that it is l very large vessel like that it is not surprising it has some problems —— when a bridge is struck. a heavy ship like that will impart a large loads of many thousands of tonnes when it hit something solid and the ship has obviously struck the support of bridge, unsurprisingly the bridge collapses because the support flimsy, it is a trestle structure with individual likes. the bridge has collapsed simply as a result of this very large impact force. the vessel should have been going down the centre of the channel but for whatever reason it must have strayed off and has hit the support. the channel is about 350 metres wide

and there was a high clearance so there was plenty of room for the ship, but for whatever reason it has hit the supports. find ship, but for whatever reason it has hit the smarte— hit the supports. and the thoughts for a lot of viewers _ hit the supports. and the thoughts for a lot of viewers are _ hit the supports. and the thoughts for a lot of viewers are with - hit the supports. and the thoughts for a lot of viewers are with the - for a lot of viewers are with the emergency operation now ongoing. how easy to move around these large pieces of metal which i imagine has now fallen into the water? hzieri; now fallen into the water? very difficult, now fallen into the water? very difficult. is _ now fallen into the water? very difficult, is the _ now fallen into the water? very difficult, is the answer. - now fallen into the water? very difficult, is the answer. it - now fallen into the water? very difficult, is the answer. it is - difficult, is the answer. it is tragic, people will have been caught up tragic, people will have been caught up in this, i can�*t really comment on the specifics but getting in amongst the material, particularly the submerge material, is difficult for anyone at the best of times. i certainly sympathise with the challenge and all of those worried about people who may be on the bridge. t about people who may be on the bride. ., ., ., a about people who may be on the bride. ., ., ., ., bridge. i want to ask about the structure of — bridge. i want to ask about the structure of big _ bridge. i want to ask about the structure of big bridges - bridge. i want to ask about the structure of big bridges like . bridge. i want to ask about the l structure of big bridges like this, how easy is it for it to come down after being hit by a ship?-

after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge _ after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge was _ after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge was built _ after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge was built in - after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge was built in the - after being hit by a ship? sadly, this bridge was built in the early 19705 and there was a very big event in 1980 where a bridge in florida was struck by a large ship and collapsed, since at that time i think the world has become much more aware of the problem. a big ship hits a bridge then obviously the bridge will be in severe trouble and maybe collapse. we design our bridges these days to resist severe impact after a certain level, there is a limit to what you can realistically design for. i suspect this bridge had not been revisited, shall we say, there are some what we call dolphins in the water, something to deflect an errant vessel. somehow this has avoided that deflection and still struck the bridge. that deflection and still struck the bride. ., . ., that deflection and still struck the bride. ., . . . bridge. how rare all come in are incidents like _ bridge. how rare all come in are incidents like this _ bridge. how rare all come in are incidents like this around - bridge. how rare all come in are incidents like this around the . incidents like this around the

world? , ., incidents like this around the world? , . ., , world? they are rare, we design auainst world? they are rare, we design against all _ world? they are rare, we design against all sorts _ world? they are rare, we design against all sorts of— world? they are rare, we design against all sorts of the _ world? they are rare, we design against all sorts of the sealablel against all sorts of the sealable scenarios one could imagine and vessel impact is certainly one of them. you would work about the principle that the vessels are most likely to go down the centre of the channel but there is always a risk they will not, as has happened here. we would design the supports of the bridge to resist a certain impact from a vessel of that vote, —— of that sort, whether the vessel itself or some other device like the dolphins in the water i mentioned, so if they vessel strays from the centre of the path it does not hit the bridge and cause damage that has happened here. you the bridge and cause damage that has happened here-— happened here. you were telling us how the designing _ happened here. you were telling us how the designing of _ happened here. you were telling us how the designing of bridges - happened here. you were telling us how the designing of bridges has i how the designing of bridges has changed over the years, you are a structural engineer and a bridge engineer. how have you made changes to stop incidents like this happening?—

to stop incidents like this haueninu? . ,., ,, to stop incidents like this hauuenin? ., ,., ,, ,., happening? human progress is all about learning _ happening? human progress is all about learning from _ happening? human progress is all about learning from mistakes, - happening? human progress is all. about learning from mistakes, when things have happened in the past we look very carefully to see why they happened and we work and design around them. i mentioned the sunshine skyway event which was a very key moment in design learning history, so now we understand the significance and importance of designing for this kind of incident and we also know how to do it in a way that perhaps previously we didn�*t. so we do it to protect against vessel impact, the consequences of impact are not as serious as we have seen here. i cannot comment on whether this particular bridge has had any kind of retrofitting or increased resistance to shipping impact since the 19705 when it was built, but it is possible it has not and it was therefore still vulnerable from being designed to earlier standards. you can watch the story lies on the

bbc news website and app, the latest information is being constantly updated, live pictures from the scene —— you can watch the story live macro on the bbc news website and app. intense fighting is continuing in gaza, just hours after the passing of the first un security council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. witnesses say israeli warplanes have again bombed the southern city of rafah — with gun battles raging in other areas. this is the moment the vote was passed, after previous attempts to call for a ceasefire failed. the us is now calling for an immediate surge in desperately needed aid. these are the latest pictures in the past hour of aid being airdropped into gaza. the un world food programme says famine could set in by may in two areas of gaza — unless the flow of aid is increased.

israel�*s prime minister has responded to the un vote by cancelling some meetings between israeli and american officials. meanwhile, hamas appears to have rejected the latest truce proposal made via mediators in qatar. lets go live tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. the news of the un vote does not seem to have made any difference in terms of reality on the ground? certainly not, we have heard overnight about israeli air strikes in the centre and south of gaza strip particularly, fighting still going on around the el hospital in gaza city which has been the focus of a major israeli military offensive in the past week and also another hospital in khan younis. while palestinians in gaza are affected by this all had welcomed this resolution, it has not made a real impact on their everyday lives.

we had the us also staying in its response as it tried to come back on some of the criticisms of the israelis, the angry rebukes of the israelis, the angry rebukes of the israeli prime minister, they did not believe this would impact israel�*s ability to go after hamas in the gaza strip. in the past day we have had a return to some of the rocket fire from gaza, suggesting that palestinian armed groups still have that capability, there were rockets fired one day ago in a southern israeli city and rocket warning siren is continuing to go off in some communities closer to gaza overnight. some communities closer to gaza overniaht. �* ., , ., overnight. after the vote, israel announced _ overnight. after the vote, israel announced it _ overnight. after the vote, israel announced it was _ overnight. after the vote, israel announced it was cancelling - overnight. after the vote, israel - announced it was cancelling meetings in washington. where justice announced it was cancelling meetings in washington. wherejustice needs diplomatic efforts to try to bring about a ceasefire? me diplomatic efforts to try to bring about a ceasefire?— diplomatic efforts to try to bring about a ceasefire? we can say that there is a real _ about a ceasefire? we can say that there is a real strain _ about a ceasefire? we can say that there is a real strain between - about a ceasefire? we can say that there is a real strain between the l there is a real strain between the us and israel, washington is as well because �*5 closest ally. it has an

impact, the fact the israeli prime minister called off meetings between two of his top advisers and us officials this week. they were meant to discuss possible alternatives that the white house is putting forward to a full—scale israeli military offensive in rafah and the very south of the gaza strip, something as well has been assisting it needs to carry out against hamas battalions it says are there, but the un says it cannot support such a thing because of the dire humanitarian consequences with so many displaced people in the area. we still have the israeli defence minister in washington at the moment and he has been continuing his meetings. and he has been continuing his meetinus. ., ~ and he has been continuing his meetings-— and he has been continuing his meetinus. ., ~' ,, , . meetings. thank you very much, yolande knell. _ around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you�*re live with bbc news. back to our breaking news out of baltimore. this is the scene live after a bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship. we have an aerial view here. the baltimore city fire department is currently at the scene, they�*ve spoken to the bbc, saying as many as 20 workers could be in the river. officers say the incident happened at about 1:30am local time. this is the moment it happens, you can see the ship hitting a column of the francis scott key bridge on the left of screen. the bridge quickly collapses. that is on the right of the screen, if you are looking at it. there is now a large multi—agency rescue and recovery operation under way. the ship�*s owner says all crew members, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. the baltimore mayor brandon scott says he is aware of the incident, and is in contact with local authorities.

we understand that the coastguard has said it has deployed small boats and a helicopterfor has said it has deployed small boats and a helicopter for the search and rescue efforts, citing reports of vehicles in the water, but it has offered no clarity on whether anyone has actually been injured. the key bridge carries more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles, that was in 2023, according to marilyn state government report issued last november, so it is a fairly major artery going across the water in baltimore. —— according to maryland state government. the bridge was openedin state government. the bridge was opened in 1977 as an alternative to people who used to have to go through a tunnel to the north of baltimore harbour. we have been talking to engineers who say normally in these situations bridges have elements built into the structure that will mitigate against container ships or any other ships

hitting them, but it seems in this case the dali, a singapore flagship, hit eight and as you saw, the bridge started to collapse. as we know from the owners of the dali, a singapore flagship, they confirmed the vessel had hit one of the pillars of the francis scott key bridge at around 1:30am eastern time, the middle of the night. all crew members including the two pilots on board have been accounted for and there were no injuries on the ship. the main cause for concern and the rescue operation is for people in the water who may have been on the bridge at the time, we are told at this stage around 20 people are being searched for at the moment. let�*s look at some other news. the kenyan government is expected to release, later on tuesday, the bodies of cult members to families for burial. self—proclaimed pastor paul mackenzie is alleged to have incited more than 400 of his followers to starve to death in a case that provoked

horror across the world. let�*s speak to our africa correspondent, barbara plett usher, in nairobi. tell us more about what is happening, this was such a horrifying incident.- happening, this was such a horrifying incident. yes, lots of bodies were — horrifying incident. yes, lots of bodies were exhumed - horrifying incident. yes, lots of bodies were exhumed from - horrifying incident. yes, lots of- bodies were exhumed from shadow graves, many of them having starved to death, their autopsies had been conducted on them, 429 bodies, and in some cases families contributed dna to help identify. today, tuesday, the government said it would release 34 bodies identified that way, a small fraction of the bodies they had been looking at. it has been an extremely long process which has taken a year to get to this point for several reasons, one is that about 10% of the bodies you could not tell which gender the body was, some of the bodies were so decomposed. because of the overwhelming number of the dead, the effort to do dna matching, they did

not have the resources to deal with this influx. and there was some reluctance on the part of some families to come forward because of the stigma attached to what happened, so in the end you have 34 bodies in the initial release, some family members have started to gather in the headquarters of the international red cross to be able to pick up the remains of their loved ones and then to give them the dignity of a burial and maybe to have some closure for themselves. tell us more about the background to this and how it all came about. this is related to — this and how it all came about. t�*u 3 is related to pasta paul mackenzie, a self—declared pastor who had been preaching that the apocalypse was nine. he moved to this wilderness near the indian ocean, along the coast of kenya, he asked his followers to come the, which would be a sanctuary, he said, as they waited for the end of the world. he

sold them aligns very cheaply, land he did not actually own. lots of people move to the king they would be moving to a new holy land, as he called it. —— lots of people moved there, thinking they would be moving to a new holy land. last year he said heaven would be full if they did not get there quickly enough, i�*m paraphrasing a woman who spoke to me, saying they should start fasting to meetjesus as soon as possible, in other words starving themselves. survivors say there was a hierarchy of who should go first, the children should go first, then the children should go first, then the women and men. hundreds of people either disappeared have been exhumed from the forest. the pastor, as well as 29 defendants, have been charged with a number of things including the murder of 191 children, but that case continues to play through the courts and even this process of maybe being able to

bury loved ones will be a small step in trying to deal with this issue which has really shocked the country. which has really shocked the count . . , country. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank— country. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank you _ country. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank you for - country. barbara plett usher in nairobi, thank you for that - country. barbara plett usher in - nairobi, thank you for that update. back to our breaking news out of baltimore. this is the scene live after a bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship. the baltimore city fire department is currently at the scene — they�*ve spoken to the bbc, saying as many as 20 workers could be in the river. 0fficers officers say this happened at about 1:30am local time. officers say this happened at about 1:30am localtime. here officers say this happened at about 1:30am local time. here is the boat hitting the scot francis key bridge, the bridge quickly collapses and there is a large rescue operation under way.

the shipping company says all those on board have been accounted for and there is no reported injury, there was a major operation looking for those who might be in the water. hello again. in the next couple of days, take your brolly with you, we expect some heavy downpours, some of which will be thundery with hail mixed in there and it�*s often going to be windy. something quieter comes our way on good friday and good saturday. but this afternoon what we are looking at is a fair bit of cloud around. we have this line of rain here. it is really reinvigorating through the afternoon, bringing heavy downpours in across parts of south—east england, the midlands, wales and eventually some of that getting into northern ireland. a lot of cloud ahead of it. the scattered showers easing across the highlands through the course of the afternoon. some of those wintry on the hills. through the evening and overnight this band of rain continues pushing northwards, getting into northern england, northern ireland, scotland, again depositing more snow on the hills. then we have this line of showers in northern ireland, wales and south—west england

extending into the channel islands. clear skies, cold, —3 or —4 where we have some snow. tomorrow, then, this line of showers pushes from the west towards the east and heads northwards. still some wintry showers on the hills across the far north of scotland where it will be windy. windy too across the south of england especially through the english channel, temperature 6—12 c. 0vernight wednesday into thursday, low pressure still very much driving our weather and we have various weather fronts wrapped around it. so on thursday what we are looking at basically bands of rain pushing northwards and eastwards. some of those wintry on the hills. some of them heavy and thundery with some drier interludes. windy across the north—east, gales possible through the english channel. temperatures eight in the north, 11 or 12 celsius at best. then as we move into good friday, not as many showers around. there will be more dry weather,

a bit more sunshine. there will still be some showers and again on the hills they are likely to be wintry in nature. a breezy day but light winds. temperatures 8—13 c north to south. that leads us into the easter weekend. fewer showers around on saturday. on sunday at the moment it looks like we could see some rain later in the day coming into southern england, pushing northwards overnight, getting into scotland on easter monday.

let�*s return to our breaking news. a bridge in the city of baltimore has entirely collapsed after being hit by a container ship. it hit a column of the francis scott key bridge. the baltimore city fire department is currently at the scene, they�*ve spoken to the bbc, saying people, and several vehicles, have fallen into the water. officers say the incident happened at about 1:30am local time. there is now a large multi—agency rescue and recovery operation under way. the baltimore mayor brandon scott says he is aware of the incident, and is in contact with local authorities. the latest we have just had from the coastguard is that they receive the report at 1:27am and that the 948 foot containership dali hit the francis scott key bridge and it subsequently collapsed as we know and the coastguard says it has

multiple response units deployed for