A cargo vessel has collided with a road bridge in Rotterdam, shedding five containers into the river Maas.

The collision at the Willemsbrug happened at around 8.45am on Wednesday. Investigations are ongoing to assess the extent of the damage. Nobody was injured.

A spokesman for the harbour operator Havenbedrijf Rotterdam said three of the containers had been retrieved, but the other two had sunk.

“The inland vessel is moored on the Noordereiland,” the spokesman said. “The captain is being questioned. It’s possible he misjudged the height of the bridge.

“There is damage to the bridge but it is not known how bad it is.”

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Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud bang as the ship rammed the underside of the bridge.

“It didn’t even stop,” one person said. “There’s no way he didn’t notice. It was a massive noise, a long scraping sound.”

It is the second time this year that a container ship has collided with the bridge. In March two containers came loose and sank when a vessel got trapped underneath.