live from london, this is bbc news. i'm lauren taylor. our top story this hour is the breaking news from the united states. the governor of maryland has declared a state of emergency after the collapse of a bridge in baltimore following its being hit by a container ship. baltimore following its being hit by a containership. it baltimore following its being hit by a container ship. it has been described as a mass casualty event. 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 at the scene, its head says as many as 20 workers are believed to have fallen into the river. it happened about 1:30am local time. there is now a large multi—agency rescue and recovery operation in place. the baltimore mayor brandon scott says he is in contact with local authorities. this is where it happened.

baltimore is in the eastern state of maryland, and the francis scott key bridge crosses the patapsco river. the bridge is a key transport route in the city, traffic is being diverted throughout baltimore. a witness to the collapse briefly described the scene. if you wanted to know what the bang was. ship hit the key bridge. sinking. the bridge is gone. holy hell. the governor of maryland has declared a state of emergency. he released a statement on the collapse of the francis scott key bridge, he said to my office is in close communication with the us transportation secretary peter mitigate, the mayor of baltimore,

the baltimore fire department. emergency personnel are on the scene following the collapse of the francis scott key bridge. i have declared a state of emergency in maryland and we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the biden administration. instead we are for the brave men and women carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone�*s safety and we will remain in contact with those carrying out rescue efforts as we continue to assess and respond to this tragedy. the governor of maryland declaring a state of emergency. our correspondent sean dilley is following the emergency from oui’ newsroom. bring us the latest figures for the numbers we think are in the water, and the rest of the scene? let’s and the rest of the scene? let's “ust look and the rest of the scene? let's just look a _ and the rest of the scene? let's just look a bit _ and the rest of the scene? let's just look a bit more _ and the rest of the scene? let's just look a bit more at - and the rest of the scene? let's just look a bit more at the - just look a bit more at the governor's statement that you just read. foranybody governor's statement that you just read. for anybody watching internationally who may not appreciate her rescue efforts work in the united states and why it is important that a state of emergency

has been declared. we had state and local authorities answering those initial emergency calls, that will always be the case. the reference to the federal bureau of investigation and the atf, alcohol, tobacco and tire out —— and firearms, they are still federal agencies, tire out —— and firearms, they are still federalagencies, being brought in, there are well rehearsed protocols, states can call, as indeed they have, by declaring an emergency, on federal resources when the president of the day, in this casejoe biden, can release money and federal resources. they will be working on the scene. if it is deemed necessary fema, the federal emergency management agency, anyone old enough to remember 9/11, they deployed the marine agencies and the search and rescue dogs to ground

zero in 2001 so the white house and federal agencies are coming together because they believe this is a mass casualty event, they do not use language like that likely. at least 20 people in water that is under 10 celsius, 48 fahrenheit. this is an emergency. as you have pointed out, over here beside me we have the bbc website where people can follow that, and on your smartphone and app. as we get our information into news wires, our colleagues on the ground, tom bateman, our correspondent, on his way to the scene, we will bring you all that information on the news app, so as well as following us on the channel it is worth keeping across online content. i it is worth keeping across online content. ~ ., , ., it is worth keeping across online content. ~ ., ~ ., ., ., content. i know you know the area and the united _ content. i know you know the area and the united states _ content. i know you know the area and the united states quite - content. i know you know the area and the united states quite well, | and the united states quite well, there has been a lot of talk about there has been a lot of talk about the state of the infrastructure in the state of the infrastructure in the states, lots of roads and

bridges have not been as well—maintained as they ought to be. how much of a factor will buckley in any investigation as they try to find out why something so dramatic could have happened?— find out why something so dramatic could have happened? massive. for context, i could have happened? massive. for context. i spent _ could have happened? massive. for context, i spent some _ could have happened? massive. for context, i spent some time - could have happened? massive. for context, i spent some time last - could have happened? massive. for| context, i spent some time last year as north america correspondent based in the bbc�*s washington, dc bureau, during that trip and others i have been through baltimore, under the bridge, overand been through baltimore, under the bridge, over and beyond. been through baltimore, under the bridge, overand beyond. the infrastructure you mentioned in terms of spending is quite important because the united states national debt is around $35 trillion. what successive governments have done, this is not party political, the republicans and democrats will seek to point the finger at each other but they have both done this, america had something called a debt ceiling, the amount of money the country can draw on from international resources, that it's from the international monetary system is in place now. because

ultimately inflation has been running rampant, the pandemic contributing to large, high wage economies too, congress has had to approve every so often raising the debt ceiling. there is a shortage of money and as we and our colleagues in the washington, dc bureau have been following, every time there is a cause to raise the debt ceiling becomes a party political issue with republicans and democrats arguing with each other about what concessions they will give each other politically, so before you can even talk about infrastructure federal funding, even talk about infrastructure federalfunding, emergency is not a problem because they will always be there, but in terms of anything from there, but in terms of anything from the united states government as a whole lot infrastructure you need to get the party is singing from the same hymn sheet, meaning you get into new debates about how much money washington is sending an aid to ukraine, for instance. back to the baltimore bridge, 1.3 million

tonnes, which is a record, of imported cargo coming through last year. 800,000 vehicles roughly estimated to have passed through the ports. it is a really major ports where many tractors and trailers and farming equipment comes from and thatis farming equipment comes from and that is dispersed around the united states. so beyond the immediate concern of local authorities, federal authorities, the white house is going to have a massive gaping hole, both literal and metaphorical, in the united states�* ability to import. of course there are other ports but this is a major blow to the united states import industry. i am reading about the bridge spans 1.6 miles of the patapsco river but the main structure, including all of the main structure, including all of the connecting approaches, is around 11 miles long and part of that interstate 695, a very large structure indeed. we are showing you pictures before the collapse to give

you an idea in daylight of what it used to look like. in the meantime, the people on top of it are in water which is really very cold, about 10 celsius. the rescue operation, it looks like it are starting to get a bit lighter than, looks like it are starting to get a bit lighterthan, but looks like it are starting to get a bit lighter than, but they will be desperate to find those people? we can't desperate to find those people? - can't overstate just how difficult can�*t overstate just how difficult it will have been for emergency workers. what do people do if there is an emergency? in the uk they may dial 999, it is 911 in the united states, they call emergency services, people called the local police. i want you to think about that for a moment, the local police department are used to dealing with a whole range of policing functions, all of a certain were advised at the time of what was a partial bridge collapse on the pitch black at 1:35am. immediately they mobilise

fire and rescue, paramedics or ems, as you might hear in the united states. even in the early hours of darkness it becomes apparent there is an emergency, that local authorities themselves need to draw upon this federal support for. as the morning goes on, as you can clearly see from the photographs again, very much online at bbc.co.uk/news, the baltimore bbc. co. uk/news, the baltimore skyline bbc.co.uk/news, the baltimore skyline has changed, there is a hole in the local community. there are people notjust in water that is below 10 celsius or 40 fahrenheit, it is also diesel in the water because the 300 metre long ship, the dali, which was on its way to sri lanka when it collided, it appears it spilled diesel into the water. so it spilled diesel into the water. so it is notjust the temperature hazardous to anybody in the water,

it is the literal fumes. this will be a big concern for divers who of course, we understand, are using very specialist personal protective equipment, but the scale of the challenge cannot be encapsulated in a sentence. . ~ challenge cannot be encapsulated in a sentence. ., ~ , ., challenge cannot be encapsulated in a sentence. . ~' , ., , . a sentence. thank you very much, sean dilley. _ a sentence. thank you very much, sean dilley. we — a sentence. thank you very much, sean dilley, we will— a sentence. thank you very much, sean dilley, we will keep - a sentence. thank you very much, sean dilley, we will keep talking l a sentence. thank you very much, | sean dilley, we will keep talking to you as the morning goes on and the rescue operation continues. we will speak to dr stergios—aristoteles mitoulis, head of structures, civil engineering, at the university of birmingham. thank you forjoining us. can you give us your impressions about what you think might have happened here? this about what you think might have happened here?— happened here? this is a very ical happened here? this is a very typical motor— happened here? this is a very typical motor failure - happened here? this is a very typical motor failure ship - happened here? this is a very - typical motor failure ship collision causing an excessive load beyond the design load that we used to design these bridges and as a result the

pylon collapsed and the forces were redistributed in the structure and of course on the video we can see it has collapse because it could not take the additional loads of this redistribution of external forces. normally the pylons, words they have special reinforcement to avoid or to be able to withstand some sort of impact? a girl that is correct. we design bridges for collision loads, but as i mentioned,— design bridges for collision loads, but as i mentioned, these loads are sometimes — but as i mentioned, these loads are sometimes exceeded _ but as i mentioned, these loads are sometimes exceeded all _ but as i mentioned, these loads are sometimes exceeded all the - sometimes exceeded all the structures have already lost part of their strength, structures have already lost part of theirstrength, part structures have already lost part of their strength, part of their capacity, because of ageing effect, corrosion and all sorts of other environmental impacts. as a result, the design load might be exceeded

and the structure is not able to carry these design load any more. this particular bridge was designed and constructed something like 47 years ago, meaning in the meantime the bridge has lost part of its capacity. the bridge has lost part of its ca aci . �* " ,., the bridge has lost part of its caaci .�* " ., the bridge has lost part of its caaci .�* " capacity. built in 1977, so do you think it is partly _ capacity. built in 1977, so do you think it is partly to _ capacity. built in 1977, so do you think it is partly to do _ capacity. built in 1977, so do you think it is partly to do with - capacity. built in 1977, so do you think it is partly to do with its i think it is partly to do with its design, or is it corrosion and some of those other elements have weakened the edge, in a way? it could be a number of reasons. i guess the engineers that will do the inspections will also find out the reasons for the collapse. this is a sea crossing bridge which means the foundations might have been scoured, it might be that the trust, the metallic structure where we see all the pylons that have lost part of the pylons that have lost part of the strength, it could be a combination of factors but it might

as well bejust combination of factors but it might as well be just the excessive force exerted on this pylon. that as well be just the excessive force exerted on this pylon.— exerted on this pylon. that was a very large — exerted on this pylon. that was a very large container _ exerted on this pylon. that was a very large container vessel, - exerted on this pylon. that was a l very large container vessel, around 300 metres long, heading into that pylon. were you surprised at the speed, i suspect we might expect one section of the bridge to collapse but were you surprised that the whole thing collapsed so quickly? i would say no, based on the fact that this was a continuous steel truss, and continuous in structural engineering means that what happens on one side is transmitted very fast to the rest of the structure, meaning, as you might have seen on the video, the left part collapses first and the right part is being raised and it goes upwards and as a result we have this redistribution of forces and of course these metallic components are not designed for these stressors, they have been

designed assuming there is a pylon taking the vertical loads, which is not the case when the pylon collapses. not the case when the pylon collapses-— not the case when the pylon collapses. not the case when the pylon collases. . , . ., , collapses. we soon expect a news conference _ collapses. we soon expect a news conference which _ collapses. we soon expect a news conference which we _ collapses. we soon expect a news conference which we will - collapses. we soon expect a news conference which we will bring - collapses. we soon expect a news| conference which we will bring you as it happens, obviously it was built in the 19705, nowadays, with a structure like this still be built in a similarway? structure like this still be built in a similar way? in other words, it said the fact that this is one of those catastrophic things where a tho5e catastrophic things where a ship has hit a bridge and there is really not much to stop it collapsing and it could happen to any structure, or would you say nowadays the structures are built differently and it would be more robust in such a situation? time/5c differently and it would be more robust in such a situation? they are and they are _ robust in such a situation? they are and they are not _ robust in such a situation? they are and they are not at _ robust in such a situation? they are and they are not at the _ robust in such a situation? they are and they are not at the same - robust in such a situation? they are and they are not at the same time, | and they are not at the same time, if that makes sense. the design procedures have not changed dramatically, apart from the fact that we consider larger loads, larger ships, that we consider larger loads, largerships, larger that we consider larger loads, larger ships, larger externalforces and climate conditions which are

changing. 0verall and climate conditions which are changing. overall the methods we use are very similar, with the exception of the strength of the materials, the way we design the foundations, so small changes. considering this is a quite rare occasion where a ship collides with a bridge pylon, this does not mean it has not happened in the past. two or 3% of bridges are failing due to a barge or a ship collision, of the ones that fail. ., ., or a ship collision, of the ones that fail. ., ._ , ., , or a ship collision, of the ones that fail. ., , ., , ., or a ship collision, of the ones that fail. ., , .,, ., ., or a ship collision, of the ones that fail. ., , ., ., , that fail. for lay people and for my own interest. _ that fail. for lay people and for my own interest, when _ that fail. for lay people and for my own interest, when a _ that fail. for lay people and for my own interest, when a ship - that fail. for lay people and for my own interest, when a ship is - that fail. for lay people and for my i own interest, when a ship is heading towards a bridge like this, other nut mechanisms, radar or some sort of alarm system, that if you get too close to a critical structure power it would alert the ship to correct the cause?—

it would alert the ship to correct the cause? , ., ., , ., , the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment — the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment on _ the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment on the _ the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment on the route _ the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment on the route the - the cause? yes, i would not be able to comment on the route the ship . to comment on the route the ship followed and whether there was communication between the bridge operator and the ship. from what is happening on the ship, it probably has to do with the operator of the ship. from the sight of the structure, there are systems in place nowadays, recall that in structural health monitoring systems, we use cctv cameras and all sorts of digital technologies to help us protect against such occurrences. but i�*m assuming as i mentioned before that the structure was very traditional. i don�*t know if there were any structural monitoring systems in place and whether these systems actually can communicate with ships passing the bridge underneath. i would have assumed no, iwould have

bridge underneath. i would have assumed no, i would have thought that would not be such a system. clearly there will be an investigation into how this happens and also into what failings that might have been with the bridge. what do you think the focus of the investigation will be on the structural engineering side of things? i structural engineering side of thins? ., ., things? i would have assumed the enuineers things? i would have assumed the engineers would _ things? i would have assumed the engineers would look _ things? i would have assumed the engineers would look at _ things? i would have assumed the engineers would look at other - things? i would have assumed the i engineers would look at other causes of the bridge deterioration, they will probably remove the soil around the foundation. i would have thought they would send divers to see the condition of the materials and the condition of the materials and the condition of the foundation. and the condition of the foundation. and the condition of the metallic trusts, which has been extensively deteriorating due to corrosion throughout these years. idr throughout these years. dr stergios—aristoteles mitoulis from the university of birmingham, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.

while we spoke to that expert we have heard from the press office handling communications for synergy marine group, who handled that ship, they said it was an all indian crew with 22 people on board. the spokesman said there was a scratch on the head of one crew member but no injuries. two members of the company�*s us team are heading to baltimore to investigate, from miami and oklahoma. the spokesperson said it was unusual to have an incident like this with two pilots on board and it could have been caused by myriad reasons. details from the press office handling communications for synergy marine group which controls the container ship that hit the bridge and cause that massive collapse. we are monitoring a news conference, we understand that is coming up soon, we will bring you that as soon as it happens. we will also bring you the very latest if

you want to keep watching it on the bbc, you can watch it online on the website with all the latest developments. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this is the outside of the high court in the uk where we expect julian assange to find out whether he can fight to stop his extradition to the united states, that is due at 10:30am uk time. two seniorjudges at london�*s high court will hand down their ruling in that case. his wife stella sanchez said in a post on twitter or x, a decision tomorrow, that was yesterday. the wikileaks founder has waited since

2019 to find out whether he would face espionage charges for the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the afghanistan and iraq wars. he is waiting to find out whether he can appeal against extradition and there have been some reports that the us has been considering a plea deal offerforjulian assange. has been considering a plea deal offer forjulian assange. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it. let�*s pause and see whether we can hear what is happening there. let�*s take you back to baltimore, where we expect this news conference giving the details of what has been happening with the latest... we think the news conference will have a baltimore city fire department, the police department, the mayormy office and the baltimore county executive�*s office and they will all

be providing an update on the key bridge collapse incident, it will focus on the search and rescue operations which are still ongoing, as you may have heard earlier about 20 people are thought to be in the water at the moment from vehicles that fell off the bridge when it was hit by a container ship that was heading out of the baltimore port en route to sri lanka, a large container ship, 300 metres long, hits one of the pylons of the bridge and caused a dramatic and catastrophic collapse of that bridge in baltimore. we know that 20 people are perhaps in the water and there is a search and rescue operation under way involving the coastguard and also police and other authorities in the area, we expect that news conference in a moment to bring us the latest. let�*s listen to our correspondent tom bateman, who was there a short time ago.

apologies, we don�*t seem to have tom bateman. we willjust try apologies, we don�*t seem to have tom bateman. we will just try to apologies, we don�*t seem to have tom bateman. we willjust try to listen to what he said. we bateman. we will 'ust try to listen to what he said._ to what he said. we are about 30 minutes away _ to what he said. we are about 30 minutes away from _ to what he said. we are about 30 minutes away from baltimore - to what he said. we are about 30 minutes away from baltimore at| to what he said. we are about 30 i minutes away from baltimore at the moment. the road is closed, as you would imagine, that heads towards that bridge. the sense we are getting is that the... there is a big build—up of traffic as things heading to the rush hour, it is almost six i am a local time. it was an extremely well used bridge, part of the beltway, a four lane bridge in baltimore, but it�*s a very, very busy area because it is a significant container port, baltimore handling a huge amount of cargo every day. that will have a very big impact on its own right.

the latent sense we are getting from the authorities in baltimore is that dieters are now in the water. you have been reporting the local fire chief saying they believe up to 20 workers may have fallen from the bridge —— divers are now in the water. there is a big rescue operation going on. we water. there is a big rescue operation going on. water. there is a big rescue oeration auoin on. ~ ~ ., ., operation going on. we know that the local senator — operation going on. we know that the local senator called _ operation going on. we know that the local senator called the _ operation going on. we know that the local senator called the collapse - local senator called the collapse horrific and said he is praying for those who were on the bridge when it fell into the water. it is really quite a breakfast —— quite a big story and i suppose it will soon be lighter? it story and i suppose it will soon be liahter? , , . ~ . lighter? it is still dark at the moment. — lighter? it is still dark at the moment, obviously - lighter? it is still dark at the moment, obviously once - lighter? it is still dark at the - moment, obviously once daylight is on the scene there will be a far greater sense of the extent of the damage. there are two things, the bridge itself and the rescue operation, the hopeful survivors to be found in the water, as i

mentioned, and membership —— the hope for survivors. they from the bridge, there is concern for the ship itself and what the damage has done to the ship. we know this is a singapore flagged vessel, the marine tracking websites appear to have shown it having been a joke, it then effectively turned around in the water and made a very shortjourney before it struck the bridge. concern about damage and what that will then mean. . . , about damage and what that will then mean, ., ., , ., about damage and what that will then mean. ., ., ., ,, mean. that was tom bateman speaking to us earlier on — mean. that was tom bateman speaking to us earlier on his _ mean. that was tom bateman speaking to us earlier on his way _ mean. that was tom bateman speaking to us earlier on his way to _ mean. that was tom bateman speaking to us earlier on his way to the _ to us earlier on his way to the scene of a mass casualty event, as the authorities are naming it, and we expect a news conference shortly from the authorities. it has been announced that the fbi and the atf have been drafted in to investigate.

around 20 people are thought to be in the water, those on board the container ship are not injured, apparently, according to the authorities, but 20 people are trying to be rescued. let�*s listen into that news conference in baltimore. into that news conference in italtimore-— into that news conference in baltimore. , baltimore. everybody good? good morninu. baltimore. everybody good? good morning- my _ baltimore. everybody good? good morning. my name _ baltimore. everybody good? good morning. my name is _ baltimore. everybody good? good morning. my name is chief - baltimore. everybody good? good morning. my name is chiefjames| morning. my name is chiefjames wallace, the chief of baltimore city fire department, i am joined by our mayor brandon scott, council president mosby, the county executive and the county fire chief. 0ur brief this morning will be an update on the search and rescue operation ongoing at this point. at approximately 0140 hours the 911 centre dispatched a call to the city fire department for the report of a

water rescue in the area of the key bridge. as units are responding they began to receive numerous calls indicating multiple people in the water. at some point during that chain of events, we began to receive indications that a ship may have struck the key bridge, we have further indication to multiple calls that the key bridge, portions of the key bridge, had collapsed. at about 0150 hours the first unit arrived on scene and reported a complete collapse of the key bridge. we were also given information about time that there were likely multiple people on the bridge at the time of the collapse and as a result, multiple people were in the water. we were able to remove two people from the water, one individual refused to and refused transport,

essentially that person was not injured. another individual has been transported to a local trauma centre in very serious condition. at this time, we have multiple air assets from the maryland state police as well as the baltimore police department, as well as multiple marine assets from around the region including baltimore city, the county, baltimore county as well as multiple local and state police agencies, national resources, ept, special ops, maryland state police, multiple resources. we are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point and we will continue to be for some time. we have a large area that we have two search including on the surface of the water, subsurface and on the deck of the ship itself. we believe

at this point we may be looking for... we may be looking for upwards of seven individuals, that is the latest information we have, what i will say is the information i am giving you right now is as of right now, what we know right now. this is a very large incidents involving a very large footprint, multiple agencies are operating therefore information is subject to change as we get more intel and as our crews worked through the morning. 0ver we get more intel and as our crews worked through the morning. over the next eight to 12 hours you can expect to continue to see our air and maritime assets functioning out on the water and in the air above, we need to do damage assessment of the ship itself before we can board that ship and we need to continue our subsurface search, which

includes different types of sonar, side scan sonar under the sonar capabilities, we have underwater uavs we are working with and throughout the night we have also been working with infrared technology both from the area and on the water surface. i will wrap up here and say this continues to be a search and rescue operation and is a very dynamic operation with multiple local, state and federal resources involved. without, i will turn to mayor brandon scott.— involved. without, i will turn to mayor brandon scott. thank you, chief. everyone, _ mayor brandon scott. thank you, chief. everyone, this _ mayor brandon scott. thank you, chief. everyone, this is _ mayor brandon scott. thank you, chief. everyone, this is an - chief. everyone, this is an unthinkable tragedy. we have two first and _ unthinkable tragedy. we have two first and foremost pray for all of those _ first and foremost pray for all of those impacted, those families, pray for our— those impacted, those families, pray for our first _ those impacted, those families, pray for our first responders and thank then, _ for our first responders and thank then, all— for our first responders and thank then, all of— for our first responders and thank then, all of them working together, then, all of them working together, the city, _ then, all of them working together, the city, state, local, to make sure we are _ the city, state, local, to make sure we are working through this tragedy.

this is— we are working through this tragedy. this is an _