A powerful explosion near a major bridge close to the Panama Canal has triggered panic, with dramatic footage showing vehicles speeding away from flames and thick smoke rising into the sky.

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Friday it had intensified its legal fight in Panama after the government seized its port operations, filing a petition to review the decree that enabled the takeover.

A civilian Panama-flagged vessel transporting corn was damaged by a Russian drone near the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority reported on Wednesday.

Panamanian authorities on Thursday searched a local ports unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, according to a source familiar with the matter, intensifying tensions over control of two key ports along the strategic Panama Canal.

Panama has formally revoked key port concession contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison and transferred interim operational control of two major canal terminals to global shipping groups A.P. Moller-Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC).

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake shook an area south of Panama at 23:07 GMT on Wednesday, according to the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.

China is reportedly among the parties interested in bidding to construct two new ports on the Panama Canal, the canal’s administrator said, despite US discussions about reclaiming control of the strategic waterway.

The US Geological Survey reported that a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Panama on Monday afternoon.

Panama on Friday declared a state of emergency in western Bocas del Toro province, where anti-government protesters are accused of setting fire to a baseball stadium and of looting businesses, including a provincial airport.