Portion of Interstate 95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker fire ...

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Multiple lanes of Interstate 95 northbound in Philadelphia have collapsed after a tanker truck fire erupted underneath an overpass.

The fire broke out around 6 a.m. underneath I-95 near the Cottman Avenue exit in the Tacony section of the city.

Video from Chopper 6 showed the overpass carrying the northbound lanes of the highway were reduced to rubble.

The southbound lanes are also compromised, officials said.

All lanes of the highway are shut down between the exits for Woodhaven Road in Northeast Philadelphia and Aramingo Avenue in the Port Richmond section.

There has been no word on any injuries or if any other vehicles were involved.

Crews are working to get the fire under control. It's not yet known what was inside the tanker truck, or why it caught fire.

Explosions could be heard in the area as the fumes seeped into manholes.

"Just really loud pops and it's, like, a little louder than gunshots," said Tacony resident Brian Kelly. "Almost like M80s. Little fireworks."

Everyone is being asked to avoid the scene.

"It smells like burning plastic mixed with, like, if you're standing right behind a car and it's blowing fumes in your face," said Tacony resident Sierra Jones.

Officials say the extent of the damage means this is a situation that will impact the region for a long time to come.

"Today's going to be a long day. Obviously, with 95 northbound gone and southbound questionable, it's going to be even longer," Dominick Mireles, the director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management.

Heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris, he said.

Multiple agencies are involved in the response to the crash, with some expressing concern regarding the runoff due to the proximity to the Delaware River.

Video from people who were driving on I-95 before the collapse are shocking. One woman took video from her Lyft ride at 6:21 a.m. The road collapsed about one minute later.

Other videos show the road starting to buckle.

Mark Fusetti, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, said he was driving south toward the city's airport when he noticed thick plumes of black smoke rising over the highway.

As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to "dip," creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.

He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.

"It was crazy timing," Fusetti said. "For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it's pretty remarkable."

Officials are treating the accident as a hazmat situation. Health officials will determine the environmental impact.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted Sunday morning that he had been briefed on the situation, and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said he has offered assistance from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The fire was strikingly similar to another blaze in Philadelphia in March 1996, when an illegal tire dump under I-95 caught fire, melting guard rails and buckling the pavement.

The highway was closed for several weeks, and partial closures lasted for six months.

More recently in Atlanta, a massive fire collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department's practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.