Joe Biden calls Baltimore bridge collapse 'terrible accident'

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called the collapse of a Baltimore bridge a "terrible accident," and pledged to get the major East Coast port up and running as soon as possible after a cargo ship struck one of the span's support pylons.

Biden said he would send "all the federal resources" needed to handle the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday. Six people -- all of them construction workers repairing the Francis Scott Key Bridge -- were missing, authorities said.

"I'm directing my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible," Biden said in a brief address from the White House, while acknowledging: "This is going to take some time."