The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed early Tuesday morning after a cargo ship hit the bridge sending cars and people flying into the river.

Early Tuesday morning around 1:30 a.m. 911 calls started coming in saying a vessel had hit a bridge column at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland and It was unclear how many vehicles were on the bridge.

Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told reporters on Tuesday morning the scene was "an active search and rescue."

"We may be looking for upwards of seven individuals, that's the latest information we have." He said the search was being conducted on and in the water and on the ship's deck.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency, saying in a statement that "we are working with an interagency team to quickly deploy federal resources from the Biden Administration. We are thankful for the brave men and women who are carrying out efforts to rescue those involved and pray for everyone's safety."

The department's communications director, Kevin Cartwright, described the collapse as "a mass casualty event." He told The Associated Press it was a "dire emergency" and some cargo was apparently dangling from the bridge.

The NOAA's National Data Buoy Center said the river water was 48 degrees overnight when the cargo ship hit the bridge.

The Coast Guard told CBS News the 948-foot Singapore-flagged cargo ship Dali had struck the bridge. It was apparently en route from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Reuters reports that the ship's owner, Synergy Marine Group, said the cause of the collision wasn't known but all crew members were accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries to any of them.

At this time rescue efforts are ongoing to rescue anyone in the river where at least 2 individuals have been saved from the cold waters.