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A portion of Interstate 95 collapsed Sunday morning as a tanker burned beneath an overpass in northeast Philadelphia, WPVI reported.
"This morning, a large tanker truck fire under I-95 near the Cottman Avenue exit in Northeast Philadelphia caused a portion of the highway to collapse. Pennsylvania State Police closed I-95 in both directions around the area," Sarah Peterson, Communications Director for Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney's office told TheBlaze in a statement Sunday morning.
"The fire is under control and City and state agencies are responding to address impacts to residents in the area and travelers affected by the road closure. We will share more details as they become available."
All lanes were closed on both the northbound and southbound sides of I-95, Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation announced in separate tweets around 6:40 a.m.
A photo shared by Fox 29 on Twitter shows a knot of vehicles stopped just ahead of a massive plume of smoke on the northbound side of I-95 near the Cottman and Academy Road exits.
\u201cHAPPENING NOW: Huge tanker truck fire underneath of I-95 near Cottman and Academy Rd exits causes highway to partially collapse on the northbound side. I-95 is currently closed in both directions. Avoid the area and use alternate routes.\u201d— FOX 29 (@FOX 29) 1686482536
Retired Philadelphia police sergeant Mark Fusetti captured a video just prior to the collapse, initially believing the smoke to have come from a brush fire.
"Watch as I drive by how far we dip because the road was collapsing," he wrote in a later tweet.
\u201cMajor fire on 95 North approaching Cottman @FOX29philly @CBSPhiladelphia @NBCPhiladelphia looks like the grass is on fire\u201d— Sgt. Mark Fusetti (Retired) (@Sgt. Mark Fusetti (Retired)) 1686479572
"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 to collapse & South have buckled down, too," wrote Fox 29 Philadelphia reporter Steve Keeley on Twitter.
Keeley appended overhead footage showing the collapsed section of highway with smoke and flames arising from beneath it.
\u201cVIDEO/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.\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1686487656
Details on injuries and a potential timeline for repair of the major thoroughfare are currently unknown.
Interstate 95 runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida to Houlton, Maine, near Canada. It parallels the Delaware River though Philadelphia.
Philadelphia's Mayor Jim Kenney retweeted Philadelphia's Office of Emergency Management advising drivers to avoid the area and to expect delays.
The fire was out as of 7:30 a.m. and crews were assessing the damage, CBS News reported.
TheBlaze has reached out to Philadelphia Mayor Kenney for comment on this breaking story.
Watch coverage below from WPVI of the partial collapse of Interstate 95 as a truck burns beneath an overpass outside Philadelphia.
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