News/Commentary

I-95 collapses outside of Philadelphia after tanker truck erupts in fire

June 11, 2023 | | Print Article

A portion of the I-95 interstate in Philadelphia collapsed Sunday after a tanker truck reportedly caught fire underneath it and the flames quickly spread.

“We did have a collapse of 95 on the northbound side, and the southbound side is compromised by heavy fire. It looked like we had a lot of heat and heavy fire underneath the underpass,” Derek Bowmer of the Philadelphia Fire Department announced during a press briefing Sunday morning, as reported by CNN.

It’s not clear how the tanker truck caught fire.

See some footage from the scene below courtesy a witness:

The fire reportedly led to some explosions that were caused by “runoff of maybe some fuel or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident,” according to Bowmer.

As of 11 am, the fire was reportedly completely out, but there was still no word as to whether anyone had been injured or killed by the fires or bridge collapse.

“There have been no reports about potential injuries stemming from either the fire or the bridge collapse. The driver’s status is unknown,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

What was known was that the repair process was expected to last weeks.

“I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time,” Philadelphia managing director Tumar Alexander reportedly said during Sunday’s briefing.

“Today is going to be a long day. It’s heavy construction equipment that’s going to be required to come in to search and remove that debris,” Dominick Mireles, the director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, added.

“About seven miles of I-95 are closed, from Allegheny and Castor Avenues (Exit 25) to Academy Road and Linden Avenue (Exit 32). Officials warn that other streets closer to the bridge are also closed due to the police and fire response,” the Inquirer notes.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, issued a Twitter statement urging all local residents to avoid I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia for the time being.

“For now, please avoid the area and follow the direction of the first responders on the scene,” he said.

Look:

This is the second time in a matter of months that I-95 has been shut down because of some sort of incident.

“A massive explosion shut down part of Interstate 95 on Friday after a fuel tanker crashed on a major bridge in Connecticut, sending a column of smoke and fire into the air and killing one person, state officials said,” The New York Times reported in late April.

“A passenger vehicle’s blown-out tire set off a chain reaction that resulted in the explosion, which also injured at least two others on the bridge, melted part of the bridge’s outer guard rail and spewed a large amount of home heating oil into the waters of the Thames River, local officials said.”

See more footage from Sunday’s collapse:

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Vivek Saxena
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