Month: June 2023

On Monday, rescue workers pulled a body from the wreckage of the tanker truck fire beneath an Interstate 95 overpass in Philadelphia. The grim discovery came as demolition crews prepared to dismantle part of the southbound lanes after the fire on Sunday caused a section on the northbound side of the highway to collapse. The incident on Sunday occurred after the driver of an 8,500-gallon-capacity tanker truck apparently lost control while trying to negotiate a curve on the exit ramp, and slammed into a wall beneath the interstate.

Pennsylvania State Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said that police have not identified the victim and when asked at a press conference whether the victim was the tanker truck driver, he said “I will defer to the medical examiner for comment on that.”

Inspectors discovered that the support beams that hold up the southbound lanes had been severely weakened by Sunday’s explosion, which prompted authorities to order the demolition of the lanes. State Transportation Secretary Carroll said: “The engineering and the inspection of the southbound bridge indicated it’s compromised as a result of the fire. The I-beams are incapable of supporting the traffic and so that structure has to be removed and we’ll be starting today.” Carroll said that he expected that demolition to be completed in four or five days.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has already warned that it could take months to repair this key stretch of highway that links the East Coast’s two largest cities, New York City and Philadelphia, and which carries roughly 160,000 vehicles a day.

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One person died after being trapped for at least an hour, after a tour boat capsized Monday morning in a cave along the Erie Canal in Upstate New York.  The tour was carrying passengers and one staff member from Destination Niagara through a series of caves in a section of the Erie Canal in Lockport, near Niagara Falls at the U.S.-Canadian border. The Lockport Police Department originally confirmed the incident in a statement shared to its Facebook page about an hour after it happened:  “Lockport police and fire departments, as well as several other agencies, are currently working to assist parties that were on a boat that capsized in the Lockport Cave Tours.”

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, authorities said that the capsize happened during a stretch of the underground trip where tourists board a small boat and travel along a 300-foot channel inside the cave, where the water level hovers around five feet deep, although it exceeds six feet in some areas. The boat became unstable and flipped near the end of the channel. Authorities said there were 28 people on board the boat when it capsized before 11:30 a.m. The passenger who was killed was about 60 years old.  Fire officials and emergency medical personnel rescued 16 people from the water; 11 of those suffered injuries and were transported to a hospital for treatment. The rest of the passengers were able to emerge safely out of the cave.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and authorities said the area where the boat capsized will be considered a crime scene until their probe is complete. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted that authorities with the New York State Police, Division of Homeland Security, State Parks and Health Department were at the scene and assisting local officials in their response.

Authorities said Monday that the Lockport Cave Tours have proceeded without incident since they began more than four decades ago. Boat tours have taken place inside the Erie Canal’s network of caves since 1977, while the caves themselves were created in the late 19th century.

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Officials said on Sunday morning that a tanker truck fire forced the closure of a section of Interstate Highway 95 in northeast Philadelphia after an elevated portion of the roadway collapsed. The Philadelphia Fire Department said in a statement that firefighters responded to the scene near the Cottman Avenue exit in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 a.m. and were able to get the blaze under control within an hour.

The collapse was caused by a tanker truck fire burning under an on-ramp. Officials told the local station that they are unsure what kind of truck it is and that they have been unable to search for a driver inside. Runoff from fuel or gas lines from the burning truck has also caused explosions underground, with a video posted on social media early Sunday appearing to show plumes of black smoke rising above the highway.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted to avoid the area and plan for alternate travel routes, and thanked first responders for their work. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro added in a tweet he has been briefed by officials and that first responders and transportation officials were on the scene. and that he and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis were “closely coordinating” with officials in the state, throughout New Jersey and in the federal government.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted he was closely monitoring the situation: “I’ve been in touch with [the Federal Highway Administration] and spoke with Gov. Shapiro to offer any assistance that USDOT can provide to help with recovery and reconstruction.” The National Transportation Safety Board was also monitoring the situation and gathering information.

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Houston police confirmed early Sunday that a mass shooting in a parking lot outside a Houston club left at least 6 people injured, with one listed in critical condition.

Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference that the incident took place @2:11 a.m. local time on Sunday in the parking lot of the Tabú nightclub. When officers arrived at the scene, they began to administer aid to victims in the parking lot of the nightclub. Said Finner: “Somebody fired into a crowded parking lot … We had 6 victims here in a shooting. Apparently there was some kind of disturbance in the club that came out into the parking lot … We’re just praying that he’s going to make it Everybody else is in stable condition but we expect them to make it, so just prayers out to the family of the one victim who has just got out of surgery — I hope he’s going to be alright.”

Chief Finner said the victims ages ranged from their late 20s to early 30s, and investigators were examining surveillance footage to try and establish who was behind the shooting. Finner said that noone is in custody at this time, and the number of suspects remains unknown, adding: “Make no mistake about it. We’re going to find out who did it and hold them accountable.”

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