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A major bridge collapsed in Baltimore on Tuesday morning after it was hit by a container ship, sending several vehicles plunging into the water below.

Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people who were missing, and two were rescued from the water after the ship collided with a pillar supporting part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which carries the Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River southeast of the Baltimore metropolitan area. The incident was captured in dramatic video, which showed smoke billowing from the boat, as the bridge and road it held tumbled into the river. A livestream showed cars and trucks on the bridge just before the collision. The boat did not sink and its lights remained on.

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One person rescued from the water was in good condition and refused treatment, but the other was very seriously injured and was being treated in a local trauma center, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said in a news conference at the scene.

Wallace said that underwater drones as well as sonar and infrared surveillance tools had confirmed there were several cars in the river. He added that it was not known how many people may be missing nor how many vehicles were on the bridge. Helicopters will survey the scene from the air as the sun comes up, he said.

"We are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point," Wallace said. Rescuers would search the surface of the water, in the river and on the deck of the ship, he said.

I somehow hadn't heard about this but yeah what awful news. Must have been absolutely terrifying for the people in the cars