University of Maryland, civil engineering professor Nii Attoh-Okine has weighed in on what caused Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse.

The iconic 47-year-old bridge collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning (local time) when a 300-metre-long container ship slammed into one of its two central pylons.

Mr Attoh-Okine claimed that the Key Bridge didn’t stand a chance when the loaded container ship collided into it.

“The bridge collapsed because of an accident," Mr Attoh-Okine told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power.

He said the structure and integrity were in “good” condition and were up to standard specifications, however, due to the load of the container ship there was “no way” the bridge would be able to handle such a force.

“This is not the design, but just the share load of the container ship which the bridge was not designed for.”