Philadelphia highway collapses after vehicle engulfed by fire
A portion of a major US highway collapsed in Philadelphia after a vehicle caught fire underneath it, city officials said on Sunday.
No injuries were reported.
Smoke billowed from the rubble of the collapsed section of the northbound lanes of I-95, the main north-south interstate on the East Coast. The video showed emergency vehicles and workers gathered in the area. Traffic in both directions of the eight-lane highway was halted due to concerns about the structural integrity of the remaining southbound lanes.
This stretch of the I-95 corridor sits in the dense northeast section of Philadelphia and connects the city to its northern suburbs, like Bucks County.
On a Sunday in the summer, it’s routinely used by beachgoers coming home from the Jersey Shore. During the week, it’s crowded with commuters and vehicles travelling to Boston, Baltimore and Washington.
Philadelphia Fire Battalion Chief Derek Bowmer told reporters that firefighters battled a large fire coming from a vehicle.
"We tried to extinguish the fire...We did upgrade it to a hazmat box because we got reports that it could have been a tanker or something like that," he said.
Crews will be at work for "a while," Bowmer added, trying to determine if the accident compromised fuel or gas lines.
Dominick Mireles, the director of the city's Office of Emergency Management, said officials were concerned about the accident's potential impact on the environment due to the proximity to the Delaware River.
"Today is going to be a long day," he said, adding that recovery efforts will likely take time.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a press conference that it would likely take "some number of months" to fully rebuild the roadway, over which roughly 160,000 vehicles pass daily. He said he would sign a disaster declaration on Monday, freeing up federal funds and other help.
Shapiro said the tanker was carrying a "petroleum product" but would not offer more details. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the tanker was carrying gasoline. NTSB sent a team to investigate.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse and the White House has offered assistance to state and local officials, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the closure of I-95 will have "significant impacts" on the region and the city of Philadelphia.
Reuters
