the collapse of the francis scott key bridge in the city. rescuers are still searching the icy waters of the patapsco river for people who plunged from the bridge when a singapore—flagged container ship hit it. six people remain unaccounted for — they're thought to be construction workers. two others were rescued — one of them is in a critical condition. the ship, called the dali, left the port of baltimore at 12.41iam and was ultimately headed for sri lanka — but within 45 minutes, it had veered off course president biden has promised any federal support will be given to them. he said, "we will rebuild the port together." the ship, called the dali, left the port of baltimore at 12.41iam and was ultimately headed for sri lanka — but within 45 minutes, it had veered off course and collided with one of the bridge�*s main supports at approximately 1.30am — with the structure collapsing shortly afterwards. the authorities say there were no structural problems with the bridge. all shipping in and out of the port of baltimore, one of america's busiest, has been suspended until further notice. you can see here the planned route of the ship and the direction it took as it drifted into the bridge. this is the moment of the collision — you can see the cargo ship experiencing some sort of power issue in the run—up of the bridge on the left of the screen. a report by us infrastructure agency says the ship lost propulsion and that the crew did notify authorities that they had lost control of their vessel. as you can see, there are vehicles on the bridge at the time of impact, but it is only a matter of seconds between the structure collapsing in the moment of impact. live now to baltimore and my colleague sumi somaskanda. maryam, thank you very much. we are standing just south of where that bridge collapsed. you can see just over my right shoulder that ship literally wedged into the bridge where it hit the bridge and collapsed into these icy waters. to give you an idea, it's infinitely windy, about 7—8 celsius. water is icy and murky, making operations which we now know i've been going on for 12 hours, even more difficult. there was a press conference in the last 10—20 minutes from the national transportation safety board, who told us there are more people who are coming in nautical operations boards, were looking into the record of the bridge and left structural engineers and bridge experts on board. that on top of the massive coastguard presence and helicopters we've seen. many taking part in this. we know that the president earlier has also been commenting on this terrible tragedy, saying that there will be federal aid. all that is needed for helping in these operation and rebuilding this critical bridge. but so many questions remain unanswered at this hour. chiefly, what happened on that ship that caused the propulsion to fail? mike's colleague gary o'donoghue has been looking at how the day unfolded —— my colleague. it's just before 1:30am in the 985 foot dali is on the open sea. it then hits a pylon, bringing the entire mile and a half span of the bridge crashing into the river. officials believe five vehicles were on .net mile and a half span of the bridge crashing into the river. officials believe five vehicles were on the bridge at the time, along with eight construction workers. two of those workers were rescued. one is in a critical condition in hospital. our state is in shock, and i want to take this moment to speak directly to the people of our state. to ourfirst responders, i am in awe of you. i am in awe of your courage, i am in awe of your strength, i'm in awe of everything you do for each and every one of us. boats, helicopters and divers were scrambled to the scene, looking for the rest of the construction team still believed missing. local residents were woken in their beds, describing how they heard and felt the crash. did it wake you up? yeah, it shook my house. my husband does that kind of work. it could have been his or his friends. �* , , . it could have been his or his friends. �*, , ., , incredibly, the crew of the ship were able to issue a day before the crash, allowing authorities on land to prevent more vehicles from going onto the bridge and unquestionably saving lives. local investigators have made it clear they believe this was an accident and have ruled out any kind of terrorist incident. my team will move heaven and earth to open the port and earth to open the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as heavily possible, and we're going to work hand—in—hand to support maryland with whatever they ask for. for now, the port of baltimore, one of ten largest in the united states, remains closed, the loss of the bridge severs a key artery for large vehicles on american�*s eastern seaboard. the impact of this accident will be felt for months to come. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, baltimore. we wa nt we want to show you some of the many life pictures we've seen. this wide shot may give you a bit of a sense of some of the massive presence of coastguard, but also an idea of where exactly this bridge is. as gary said, this port is one of the busiest in the country. you can get an idea of the scale of this bridge. i'm going to show you a different angle same shot. just exactly how this ship looked as it crashed into this ship looked as it crashed into this bridge. you might get a better shot about how this looked. 300 metres long, 96,000 tonnes. you can imagine at that speed, just the impact that it had on the bridge when it hit. those images hopefully giving a little bit of a better idea of what we have been seeing here on the ground as we've been warning. authorities have warned or been warned by the crew that they have effectively lost power. they gave this made a call that allowed authorities. in the last couple of hours, we've received audio released by the maryland transportation authority police dispatch, where you can hear people talking about shutting the bridge moments before the crash. have a listen. if we can stop traffic, just make sure _ if we can stop traffic, just make sure no—one's on the bridge. there's a crew_ sure no—one's on the bridge. there's a crew there~ — sure no—one's on the bridge. there's a crew there. we might want to innovate — a crew there. we might want to innovate -- _ a crew there. we might want to innovate —— identified to see if we can get— innovate —— identified to see if we can get them off the bridge. once the unit— can get them off the bridge. once the unit gets up here, i'll ride up on the _ the unit gets up here, i'll ride up on the bridge. traffic stop at it this time _ on the bridge. traffic stop at it this time. once you get here, i'll io this time. once you get here, i'll go grab — this time. once you get here, i'll go grab the — this time. once you get here, i'll go grab the workers on the key . the whole bridge just fell down. . the whole bridge “ust fell down. the whole bridge — . the whole bridge just fell down. the whole bridge is _ . the whole bridge just fell down. the whole bridge is collapsed. - . the whole bridge just fell down. the whole bridge is collapsed. is| the whole bridge is collapsed. [£3 that the whole bridge is collapsed. that correct? the whole bridge is collapsed. is that correct? that _ the whole bridge is collapsed. is that correct? that is _ the whole bridge is collapsed. is that correct? that is correct. - that correct? that is correct. there's time. _ that correct? that is correct. there's time. do _ that correct? that is correct. there's time. do we - that correct? that is correct. there's time. do we know. that correct? that is correct. - there's time. do we know what's happened? — there's time. do we know what's happened? i there's time. do we know what's happened?— there's time. do we know what's ha ened? �* ., ., happened? i can't get to the other side. the bridge _ happened? i can't get to the other side. the bridge is _ happened? i can't get to the other side. the bridge is down. - happened? i can't get to the other side. the bridge is down. we - happened? i can't get to the other side. the bridge is down. we have to net side. the bridge is down. we have to get somebody _ side. the bridge is down. we have to get somebody on _ side. the bridge is down. we have to get somebody on the _ side. the bridge is down. we have to get somebody on the other - side. the bridge is down. we have to get somebody on the other side. - side. the bridge is down. we have to | get somebody on the other side. msp needs— get somebody on the other side. msp needs to _ get somebody on the other side. msp needs to stop traffic coming northbound. green c—13, i'm holding on traffic— northbound. green c—13, i'm holding on traffic northbound. such northbound. green c-13, i'm holding on traffic northbound.— on traffic northbound. such a dramatic _ on traffic northbound. such a dramatic sound _ on traffic northbound. such a dramatic sound you - on traffic northbound. such a dramatic sound you heard . on traffic northbound. such a l dramatic sound you heard from on traffic northbound. such a - dramatic sound you heard from those calls. saying the bridge is down — such a shock to so many people we've been speaking to today. the national transportation safety board has been holding press conference and are now leading this investigation. the chair was speaking earlier. let's play clip of what she said. pat speaking earlier. let's play clip of what she said.— what she said. at this time, the i will have more _ what she said. at this time, the i will have more information - what she said. at this time, the i will have more information about what she said. at this time, the i - will have more information about the recorders tomorrow. we chose not to board the vessel today to allow some time for the search and recovery which we did not want to interfere with. that is first and foremost. we have information we need to verify before i provided. we will have the information tomorrow or maybe later tonight. how critical will voyage data recorder bead? it will be critical. it's a critical piece of our information. the question is on dropping anchor on whether they dinner need not, and the timing on that will be part of our investigation —— did or did not. i can provide more information on the coming days, but not today. that was from the press _ coming days, but not today. that was from the press conference _ coming days, but not today. that was from the press conference from - coming days, but not today. that was from the press conference from the i from the press conference from the national transportation safety board. i want to bring in a reverend. the reverend rashad singletary from the mount olive baptist church has been supporting the rescue teams. hejoins me now. thank you so much forjoining us. tell us more about how you have been supporting these rescue teams. thank ou for supporting these rescue teams. thank you for having — supporting these rescue teams. thank you for having me _ supporting these rescue teams. thank you for having me on _ supporting these rescue teams. thank you for having me on today. _ supporting these rescue teams. t�*iag'ia; you for having me on today. our church is about 500 feet away from the actual bridge, and so i've been out with the mayor of baltimore city and the county executive, just trying to figure out how we can assist as faith communities —— faith communities to help with some of the distress of some of the workers. also assisting with providing mental health services for a few of the community members who have been traumatised by this event. so we're going to have a virtual and in person prayer vigil at 5pm. reverend, that is remarkable. 500 feet from the bridge. tell us how this has impacted you. personally, as the pastor _ this has impacted you. personally, as the pastor of _ this has impacted you. personally, as the pastor of this _ this has impacted you. personally, as the pastor of this community, l this has impacted you. personally, as the pastor of this community, i | as the pastor of this community, i have several of our congregants who use this bridge every day to go to work, to come back to work —— from work, to come back to work —— from work, and some of the individuals thankfully from our church who usually use the bridge did not use it. myself and my wife and our two sons used the bridge to go back and forth from church to home. so, it's devastating. it's traumatic. i'm just praying for those family members of those individuals who still might be lost at sea and for all the men and women of law enforcement who are working tirelessly to make sure that we get to the bottom of this occurrence. but it's been very extremely traumatising.— but it's been very extremely traumatising. but it's been very extremely traumatisinu. ., ., , ., traumatising. reverend, how do you think it will impact _ traumatising. reverend, how do you think it will impact your _ traumatising. reverend, how do you think it will impact your city - traumatising. reverend, how do you think it will impact your city going i think it will impact your city going forward — notjust the infrastructure, but the community? absolutely. our church is in a community that's called turner station, predominantly african—american, impoverished as well. we're hoping that even though this travesty has happened, just feet away from here, that our state, local and federal partners will assist not only in rebuilding the bridge, but also helping to rebuild this community, because this is definitely a community that watched the bridge being developed, and sadly this morning, watching it fall to its demise.— sadly this morning, watching it fall to its demise. right reverend, you said ou to its demise. right reverend, you said you are _ to its demise. right reverend, you said you are helping _ to its demise. right reverend, you said you are helping serve - to its demise. right reverend, you said you are helping serve some i to its demise. right reverend, you said you are helping serve some ofj said you are helping serve some of the rescue and search people who are helping at this hour. tell us how this has been serving them and what they have told you.— they have told you. well, we have a treat they have told you. well, we have a great relationship _ they have told you. well, we have a great relationship with _ they have told you. well, we have a great relationship with maryland - great relationship with maryland department of transportation authority chiefjoseph scott and also our baltimore co. chief of police robert mccullough. this is been very traumatic for them as well. our nbta police oversee our highways and bridges, so being able to pray with them and offer the church as a safe place, not only to pray but for those individuals who also need an opportunity to get some food or may be need to use a sanctuary to sleep on our pews or whatever we can do. we're going to do it and we're doing our best to make sure we're there for them at this very difficult time.— this very difficult time. reverend, we heard that _ this very difficult time. reverend, we heard that the _ this very difficult time. reverend, we heard that the mayor, - this very difficult time. reverend, we heard that the mayor, the - we heard that the mayor, the governor, spoke earlier and also the president, from talking about providing any and all federal aid. what do you think your community will need most now?— will need most now? there's a few thins will need most now? there's a few things that — will need most now? there's a few things that we're _ will need most now? there's a few things that we're going _ will need most now? there's a few things that we're going to - will need most now? there's a few things that we're going to need. i l things that we're going to need. i think that there's going to be a need for food. think that there's going to be a need forfood. i know think that there's going to be a need for food. i know that there's going to be some mental health disparities that will need to be addressed. i also know that we'll also going to figure out how to full support first responders. any aid we can provide to them and also the families who have to deal with such a traumatising moment in their lives, we're looking for some assistance in this direct community assistance in this direct community as it relates to infrastructure. we've had flooding in our community for over 20 years, and so hopefully, as we again build this dominant bridge in our city, hopefully there will be some opportunities that we can work together to figure out how we also serve the people that have beenin we also serve the people that have been in this community for years who are now let's ta ke let's take you to another angle, a close up of the ship. you can see just the sheer size of it. it is enormous with tonnes and tonnes, hundreds of those cargo containers, and you can see there the area where it ploughed into the bridge, causing the bridge to collapse into the patapsco river, after the container crashed into it. the incident happened at about 1:30am in the morning. let's take you to some other pictures coming into us. these are live from the area. you can see them of the camera on the back of them of the camera on the back of the speedboat, potentially, taking live pictures. it's about 20 past three in the afternoon in baltimore and as we heard earlier, from the chair of the national transportation safety board presser, the investigation is added very, very early stages. to be honest with you, the rescue operation really is still in the hands of the us coast guard, just what she said to me a little bit earlier. let's ask this question that many people are asking today, how is it a ship of this stature which has been sanding since 1977 was damaged, destroyed and crumbled literally into the water so easily? let's speak to andy herrmann, asce, past president of the american society of civil engineers and a bridge expert. he's in boston. thanks very much. why did this bridge collapsed so easily? this bridge has three main spans. i think it's the second largest trust in the united states, may be the third largest of the type in the world. it's a continuous cross between east of these components that are connected, so when the ship came in, and took out one of the main peers. the two spans that were resting on it came down very quickly. but since there was continuous span, that one also lost its support. it came down also. share its support. it came down also. are ou its support. it came down also. are you saying — its support. it came down also. are you saying if _ its support. it came down also. are you saying if the ship had hit any other part of the bridge, it would not have collapsed in that way? well, ifi not have collapsed in that way? well, if i had hit the other main pier in the centre, it probably would have fallen down. the end stand, i'm not sure. truth? would have fallen down. the end stand, i'm not sure.— would have fallen down. the end stand, i'm not sure. why is it that this bridge _ stand, i'm not sure. why is it that this bridge was _ stand, i'm not sure. why is it that this bridge was constructed i stand, i'm not sure. why is it that this bridge was constructed in i stand, i'm not sure. why is it thatj this bridge was constructed in this way? it feels to me like it makes it quite vulnerable or not?— way? it feels to me like it makes it quite vulnerable or not? well, when they designed _ quite vulnerable or not? well, when they designed the _ quite vulnerable or not? well, when they designed the trust, _ quite vulnerable or not? well, when they designed the trust, making i quite vulnerable or not? well, when they designed the trust, making it l they designed the trust, making it continuous, allows all the trusses to share the load as the trucks drive across, so it's an economical way of designing the trusses. 50. way of designing the trusses. so, ou're way of designing the trusses. so, you're saying _ way of designing the trusses. so, you're saying they tried to save money when they built the bridge and in doing so, didn't build a bridge that was a sturdy as they could have had? ., . , ,, had? not necessarily. this bridge was ut had? not necessarily. this bridge was put into _ had? not necessarily. this bridge was put into operation _ had? not necessarily. this bridge was put into operation in - had? not necessarily. this bridge was put into operation in 1977. i had? not necessarily. this bridge l was put into operation in 1977. and designed to to the standards of that day. in 1980, we had the sunshine skyway bridge which was a large similar bridge and it was hit by a large freighter and it came down similarly. but that was 1980. in the 90s and in the 2000s, they did a lot of study on how to protect bridges from vessel collisions. in the �*90s, they came out with a guide specification. the code is made by the american association of state highway and transportation officials. it was updated in the 20005 officials. it was updated in the 2000s and is now part of it. now when you design a bridge of this magnitude, you have to take a little bit more of the vessel's sides, the navigation channel, the mass of the vessels, look at how to harden the bridge either by the piers themselves or by putting a fender system around it. or you could actually go back to what they did for the replacement of the sunshine skyway bridge by putting an island in front of it. it would dissipate its energy before it hit the peer. andy herman, it's been really good to get you on the show. you very much. . ~ to get you on the show. you very much. ., ,, i. to get you on the show. you very much-_ we'll - to get you on the show. you very much._ we'll leave i to get you on the show. you very| much._ we'll leave this much. thank you. we'll leave this story momentarily. _ much. thank you. we'll leave this story momentarily. i— much. thank you. we'll leave this story momentarily. i think - much. thank you. we'll leave this i story momentarily. i think actually, in a few minutes, we're expecting governor of the region to give a press conference. i think we're expecting that about 7.30, london time. that's about 3.30 local time. the maryland governor wes moore is a schedule to give a conference. let's take you now to a political story happening here. two government ministers have announced their resignations, in what will trigger a minor reshuffle for the prime minister rishi sunak. robert halfon has quit as skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister, while the already outgoing mpjames heappey has stepped down as armed forces minister. both will also stand down as mps at the next election. let's speak to our political correspondent peter saull. he is in westminsterfor us. what does this mean for rishi sunak? ordinarily, when you lose two ministers in one day, its major cause for concern, but i don't think that's the case this evening. james heappey had already said he was going to stand down as an mp at the general election, which is due by the end of the year, and robert hausman — bit of a surprise, but he said he wanted to stand down —— robert halfon. he wants to resign that post. both of these individuals have made it abundantly clear that they are fully supportive of the prime minister and his programme for government. downing street could have written their resignation letters for them. no sense here of resignations because of disagreements on anything, but this brings the number of conservative mps that said they would stand down to 63. not necessarily out of the ordinary given that the last election, five years ago, this tends to happen. but as may be a bit of a sign that some of them look at the opinion polls right now and are thinking maybe they might lose their seats. perhaps it's been a factor in robert halfon and james heappey�*s thinking. robert halfon and james heappey's thinkina. ., ~ i. , robert halfon and james heappey's thinkina. ., ~' ,, , . thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed- stay — thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. stay with _ thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. stay with us _ thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. stay with us on _ thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. stay with us on the - thinking. peter, thank you very much indeed. stay with us on the world i indeed. stay with us on the world today. hello. the barometer�*s falling, with heavy weather expected over the next few days. strong winds around some coastal areas, but inland, too. and on top of that, big shower clouds with downpours, hail and thunder. now, the satellite picture looks quite turbulent already, all these cloud patterns swirling around notjust the uk, but much of western and central europe. a big dip in thejet stream as well has allowed that colder air to filter in from the north as well. and the colder air will be responsible for generating some of these big shower clouds given the strength of that sunshine. it's that temperature contrast that creates all this turbulent weather. now, through the early hours, we'll see a weather front moving northwards across the uk. it has been quite wet already in some areas. notice that by the end of the night, it even turns quite wintry there across the scottish hills. and temporarily, some dry weather there across central parts of the uk. very quickly, we'll see strengthening south—westerlies and the heavy showers will be sweeping into south—western england, into wales, particularly wet in northern ireland. we could see up to 30, a0 millimetres of rain, perhaps even more than that in some areas. but those winds really will be very noticeable, pushing in those big shower clouds, cumulonimbus clouds, bringing the downpours, with the hail and at times thunder. and a chilly day, temperatures in some areas not making double figures. then, into thursday, if anything, the winds will strengthen further. in fact, this area of low pressure has been named by the spanish met service as storm nelson. severe gales for a time possible on the coasts, very windy inland, too, frequent showers across the country. a really turbulent day with those dramatic cloud scapes. and, again, on the chilly side, with those strong winds and particularly in those showers. look at good friday — i think the winds will a little lighter, but still quite breezy on this day. and also showers expected, particularly across some western areas. and then, as we head into the easter weekend, we start to see some changes. the air actually starts to come in from the south, and that means that the atmosphere will warm up at least somewhat, so the temperatures will rise. we're possibly talking about the mid—teens across southern parts of the uk, about 12 degrees expected in belfast. but, really, it is looking like a mixed bag until then. bye— bye. this is the world today from bbc news. the headlines: six people are missing after a cargo ship ploughs into a bridge, causing it to collapse. this is the scene live in baltimore, where rescuers are continuing to search the water. in other news, the us supreme court seems unlikely to restrict access to a widely used abortion drug. also coming up on the world today: he isa he is a national treasure in the uk but why has north korean tv censored alan titchmarsh's trousers on a bbc gardening show? let's ta ke let's take you briefly to the scene live in baltimore, let's take you to the scene of the collapsed bridge if we can. we can show you what's