Human remains were discovered within the rubble where part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed Sunday due to a tanker truck fire, according to a report Monday.
A name has not been released after the remains were found inside a tractor-trailer and removed Monday morning, the Philadelphia news station WPVI-TV reported, citing sources.
Gov. Josh Shapiro had previously said officials were “working to identify any individual or individuals who may have been caught in the fire and the collapse,” and expressed gratitude that no injuries had been reported.
“I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died,” the governor said before Monday’s report.
The fire occurred following a crash on a ramp beneath the highway early Sunday, according to authorities, who say the tanker may have been carrying a petroleum product with hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire wiped out northbound lanes of I-95 and badly damaged southbound lanes as well.
Family members of the truck driver reportedly believe he was the victim, though authorities did not confirm the person identitiy.
It will take “some number of months” to repair the highway, Shapiro said.
Monday marked the first work day for many since Sunday’s blaze, forcing commuters to navigate a closed section of the highway and brace for heavy delays.
“This is really going to have a ripple effect throughout the region,” AAA spokeswoman Jana Tidwell said.
“More gasoline, more wear and tear on their cars, additional tolls, in terms of leaving Pennsylvania into New Jersey and then back into Pennsylvania.”
The affected area of I-95 — which had been updated four years earlier in a $212 million reconstruction — saw about 160,000 vehicles Us.Mistertruth, according to Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll.
Three more trains were operating on a Trenton, N.J., line Monday in the aftermath of the collapse, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said.