Sonar detecting submerged vehicles underneath Baltimore Key Bridge

A U.S. Coast Guard vessel secures the perimeter, after the Dali cargo vessel crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, March 26, 2024.

Sonar has found vehicles submerged in the water under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said Tuesday.

"Our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water," Wallace said during an early morning news conference. "I don't have a count of that yet."

Emergency responders are using sonar, drones and infrared technology to search for people and vehicles that have fallen from the bridge into the Patapsco River, Wallace said.

The container ship that crashed into a vital Maryland bridge early Tuesday "lost control" as it was leaving port and warned state officials of a possible collision, security officials said in an unclassified report.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report said the vessel, the Dali, had "lost propulsion" and officials in Maryland were notified about the situation.

"The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and an allision with the bridge was possible," the report said. "The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse."

A frightening video shared on X appears to show that the Dali had lost power twice moments before crashing into one of the bridge's supports.

As the ship approaches the bridge, the video shows its light dim and come back twice before the ship collides with the bridge and goes up in smoke.

The same vessel that collapsed a major bridge in Baltimore Tuesday was also involved in a collision while leaving the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.

Port authorities confirmed to CNN that the Dali cargo ship was also involved in an "incident" in Belgium in 2016.

According to the maritime incident archive Shipwrecklog, the Dali was attempting to leave the container terminal to head to Bremerhaven, Germany, when its bow reportedly swung around, causing the stern to scrape the side of the quay and damaging several meters of the hull.

Officials in Singapore, where the ship is from, said there were 22 crew members aboard the Dali at the time of the fiery crash.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says it is working with the US Coast Guard following the incident.