Joe Biden has said search and rescue is his "top priority" after the Baltimore bridge collapse.
It comes after the freight ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore earlier today, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the US East coast.
The President has confirmed that he intends for the federal government to cover the full cost of rebuilding the bridge.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore and other officials described the scope of a search and rescue mission. Both Moore and Baltimore FBI field officer in charge William J. DelBagno said there is no evidence to suggest terrorism was involved.
President Biden has spoken to reporters about the bridge collapse in Baltimore
Reuters/Getty
President Biden said: "Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time have we no other indication, no other reason to believe there's any intentional act here."
"It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge and I expect the congress to support my effort."
"This is going to take some time...we're not leaving until this job gets done...Ship traffic and the port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice. And we'll need to clear that channel before the ship traffic can resume."
The President also confirmed that he will be going to Baltimore "as soon as possible."
LATEST FROM BALTIMORE:
The collapsed bridge in Baltimore
Getty
Six people remain unaccounted for after dramatic footage showed vehicles falling from the structure as the road surface and steel beams crashed into the water.
The port handles imports and exports for major automakers including Nissan, Toyota, General Motors, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover and the Volkswagen group - including luxury models for Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley.
More than 40 ships remained inside Baltimore port including small cargo ships, tug boats and pleasure craft, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed. At least 30 other ships had signalled their destination was Baltimore, the data showed.
The bridge, named after Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner, opened in 1977.
