A section of northbound I-95 in Philadelphia has collapsed after a tanker truck caught fire underneath the highway, Philadelphia officials said Sunday morning.
“We did have a collapse of 95 on the northbound side, and the southbound side is compromised by heavy fire,” Derek Bowmer, battalion chief for the Philadelphia Fire Department, said during a news conference Sunday morning. “It looked like we had a lot of heat and heavy fire underneath the underpass.”
Firefighters are still battling the blaze, Bowmer said.
Explosions around the highway collapse were caused by “runoff of maybe some fuel or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident,” said Bowmer.
“We have fire coming out of those manholes,” Bowmer said.
The mayor’s office told CNN a large tanker truck fire caused the collapse. The highway is closed in both directions around the area and the fire is under control, according to Sarah Peterson, the office’s communications director.
Dominick Mireles, director of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management, said officials would be dealing with the collapse and the fire for a long time.
“Today’s going to be a long day. And obviously with 95 northbound gone, and southbound questionable, it’s going to be even longer than that,” Mireles said. “The roadway’s gone.”
Tumar Alexander, managing director for the City of Philadelphia, said the incident will “be a significant impact to this community for a while.”
“95 will be impacted for a long time,” Alexander said during the news conference.
The fire is under investigation by the fire marshal and other partners, Bowmer added during the news conference.
Officials have not reported on any injuries.
