{"id":4273,"date":"2023-06-11T21:11:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T20:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loktaknews.com\/section-of-elevated-us-highway-falls-into-lanes-below\/%e0%a4%8f%e0%a4%95%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%b8%e0%a4%95%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%b2%e0%a5%82%e0%a4%b8%e0%a4%bf%e0%a4%b5\/"},"modified":"2023-06-11T21:11:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T20:11:09","slug":"section-of-elevated-us-highway-falls-into-lanes-below","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loktaknews.com\/?p=4273","title":{"rendered":"Section Of Elevated US Highway Falls Into Lanes Below"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Watch:<\/div>\n

Visuals showed flames and billowing smoke coming from the crumbled section<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Washington: <\/b><\/p>\n

A fire caused an overpass on one of America’s busiest highways to collapse early Sunday in Philadelphia, authorities said, as reports attributed the cause to a truck that burst into flames under the bridge.<\/p>\n

The collapse took out four traffic lanes along an elevated section of heavily traveled Interstate 95, though no injuries were immediately reported.<\/p>\n

“Companies arrived on location and they found… heavy fire from a vehicle — we don’t know what type of vehicle it was,” Battalion<\/span> Derrick Bowmer, of the Philadelphia Fire Department, told a news conference.<\/p>\n

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BREAKING: Fuel tanker explodes on Philadelphia highway, causing an entire overpass to collapse. pic.twitter.com\/iwRVgxJZ41<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bowmer added the situation was considered a hazmat incident, but could not confirm reports that the burning vehicle was an oil tanker.<\/p>\n

Federal and local law enforcement are looking for the driver, whose whereabouts are unknown, local media reported.<\/p>\n

The north-south highway — one of the busiest in the United States, connecting major cities along the East Coast from Maine to Florida — remains closed in both directions in the Philadelphia area, officials said.<\/p>\n

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VIDEO\/BREAKING: SkyFOX over the section of northbound I-95 that has collapsed in Philadelphia near the Cottman Ave exit. A tanker truck in the underpass beneath 95 caused the North lanes above to collapse & South have buckled down too. pic.twitter.com\/0aIqreRlzI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) June 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rebuilding the section of destroyed highway could take weeks, authorities said, a nightmare scenario for commuters as well as for road travelers at the start of the summer holiday season.<\/p>\n

“Avoid area. Plan and seek alternative travel routes,” the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter he is offering “any assistance that USDOT can provide to help with recovery and reconstruction.”<\/p>\n

Television images showed flames and billowing smoke coming from the crumbled section of I-95 in the northeastern city’s Tacony neighborhood, with parts of the elevated roadway having fallen onto the lanes below.<\/p>\n

City authorities issued a series of alerts on Twitter about a tanker truck fire on the highway, which local media reported caught fire underneath the bridge, apparently causing the collapse.<\/p>\n

A city spokeswoman told AFP that a “large fire under I-95” caused the highway to collapse, but did not attribute it to any vehicle. She said the fire has been declared “under control.”<\/p>\n

Local media reported the fire started around 6:20 am (0220 GMT), when Sunday traffic is typically light.<\/p>\n

“I will always be grateful to our first responders for the dangerous, life-saving work they do to keep residents and visitors safe,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said on Twitter.<\/p>\n

The southbound lanes of the highway, while still standing, are “compromised,” Bowmer said. “They got a lot of heat and heavy fire.”<\/p>\n

“I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time,” city Managing Director Tumar Alexander told a news conference, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.<\/p>\n

Residents told city media outlets that they heard several explosions, which a fire department captain told the local NBC station were coming from underground, caused by runoff from the truck.<\/p>\n

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n