A section of I-95 in Philadelphia has collapsed after a tanker truck fire
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A section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed Sunday morning following a large tanker truck fire under the highway, city officials said.
A photo shared by the city's Office of Emergency Management showed a scorched section of the highway caved in on the road below. Images on local news and social media showed black smoke billowing from the area.
"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," OEM director Dominick Mireles said at a news briefing Sunday morning.
Mireles said the city would communicate information about detours and impacts to the community in "the days and weeks that follow on."
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It's unclear if there were any injuries. Authorities said they would bring in heavy equipment to move debris from the collapse.
"I will always be grateful to our first responders for the dangerous, life-saving work they do to keep residents and visitors safe," Mayor Jim Kenney said in a tweet.
Kenney added that the administration would continue to provide updates to residents on detours and other travel alternatives.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had been briefed on the highway collapse and was sending state transportation officials to the scene.
Traffic was stopped in both directions near the site of the collapse, and officials were urging drivers to take alternate routes.
Earlier in the day, Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief Derek Bowmer said explosions heard in the area after the accident were "runoff" from fuel or gas lines that may have been compromised by the fire.
"We have fire coming out of those manholes," he said.
Bowmer added that the southbound lanes were also "compromised" by the heat and heavy fire under the overpass.
The fire department responded to the call around 6:30 a.m. local time Sunday morning and had the fire contained by 7:30 a.m.
The collapse occurred near the Cottman Avenue exit of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia.
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