A body has been recovered from the rubble at the site of the I-95 roadway collapse in northeast Philadelphia, police have said.
The body has been handed over to the medical examiner of Philadelphia County. “Authorities are in the process of identifying the remains,” Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Myles Snyder said.
On Sunday, a truck fire under an on-ramp for the I-95 highway near Philadelphia led to the roadway partially collapsing and traffic being shut down.
The truck was reportedly carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline.
The authorities said that the northbound roadway collapsed before 8.00am on Sunday and that the southbound roadway is “compromised”.
“The roadway is gone,” officials told NBC10. The truck was seen covered in concrete and debris from the roadway.
ABC News identified the man whose remains were found in the wreckage as Nathaniel Moody. Quoting family members of Moody, the outlet reported that he was the truck driver who died in the crash, fire and collapse on I-95.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of the man.
Meanwhile, the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro on Monday signed a disaster declaration for Philadelphia after the I-95 collapse.
“To expedite the rebuilding of I-95 and cut through the red tape, this morning, I issued a disaster declaration allowing the commonwealth to immediately draw down federal funds and move quickly to begin the repair and reconstruction process,” Mr Shapiro said on Monday.
He said that his administration is “hands on deck to repair I-95 as safely and as efficiently as possible”.
Completely rebuilding the roadway was expected to “take some number of months”, he said.
