The Francis Scott Key Bridge in the American city of Baltimore collapsed after a collision with a ship, AFP reported.
"Francis Scott Key has collapsed due to being struck by a ship," the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) said on social media X. It urged motorists to avoid the route over the Patapsco River, which it called an "active scene."
Earlier, TSM reported that both lanes of the interstate were closed due to an "incident" on the bridge and that traffic was being diverted.
A spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department said there may be people in the river.
"I can confirm that at 1:35 a.m. Baltimore City Police were notified of a partial bridge collapse with possible workers in the water on the Francis Scott Key Bridge," said Detective Nicky Fennoy.
Ship-tracking website MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali stopped under the bridge in the early hours of March 26./BGNES