A portion of a vital highway on the East Coast of the US collapsed in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying petrol caught fire underneath an overpass.

City officials say no injuries have been reported.

Smoke billowed from the rubble of the collapsed section of the northbound lanes of I-95, the main north-south interstate on the East Coast, running from Miami in the south north through Washington and New York before ending at the Canadian border in the state of Maine.

Video showed emergency vehicles and workers gathered in the vicinity of the huge chunk of the charred, collapsed overpass.

Traffic in both directions of the eight-lane highway was halted due to concerns about the structural integrity of the remaining southbound lanes.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Sunday said it would send a team to investigate what it called a petrol tanker truck fire and the collapse of the overpass.

US President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse and the White House has offered assistance to state and local officials, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the closure of I-95 would have “significant impacts” on the region and the city of Philadelphia. Buttigieg said on Twitter that he was co-ordinating with regional leaders for recovery and rebuilding efforts.

This stretch of the I-95 corridor sits in the dense northeast section of Philadelphia and connects the city to its northern suburbs, like Bucks County.

– AAP