Biden pledges to rebuild Baltimore bridge destroyed by deadly container ship collision

Joe Biden has promised to quickly rebuild a major bridge that was rammed by a container ship in a deadly collision on Tuesday. The incident plunged cars and workers into the icy waters below and blocked the busy port of Baltimore.

The president pledged to “move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible” – and said the federal government would pay.

Rescuers pulled out two survivors and searched for at least six people who were still missing in the Patapsco River after the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge was turned into a pile of twisted metal.

Full story: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse updates

Although the impact happened at 1.30am local time, maintenance crews were repairing potholes on the road surface when the 948ft container ship Dali lost propulsion and slammed into a supporting pillar.

Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore, called it “an unthinkable tragedy” and described the scene as “like something out of an action movie”.

The bridge carried 31,000 cars a day – 11.3 million vehicles a year – across the city harbour, and was the main interstate highway for drivers between New York and Washington who sought to avoid downtown Baltimore. It was opened in 1977 and was named after the author of the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Mr Biden said the US Coast Guard had responded quickly to a mayday call from the ship, and commended the fast action of Maryland officials who shut the bridge to traffic before it was struck and “undoubtedly saved lives”.

Jayme Krause, 32, was working a night shift at a logistics facility when she heard what sounded like an intense thunderstorm. A co-worker told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran out to look. “I went over