MARCUS WOHLSEN ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKLAND, CALIF.-A heavily travelled section of freeway that funnels traffic off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed early yesterday after a gasoline tanker truck overturned and erupted into flames, authorities said.

Flames shot 60 metres in the air and the heat was intense enough to melt part of the freeway and cause the col­ lapse. But the truck's driver walked away from the scene, hailed a taxi, and was hospitalized with second-degree burns. No other injuries were reported.

"I've never seen anything like it," Officer Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol

said of the crumpled in terchange. "I'm looking at this thinking, `Wow, no one died that's amazing.' It's just very fortunate:'

Authorities said the damage could take months to repair, and that it would cause the worst disruption for Bay Area commuters since a 1989 earthquake damaged a section of the Bay Bridge.

Nearly 75,000 vehicles use the portion of the road every day. But because the accident occurred where three highways converge on the Oakland side, authorities said it could cause commuting problems for hundreds of thousands of people.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom quickly ruled out sabotage or terrorism, but said the accident showed the region's infrastructure remains dangerously vulnerable. Any break in the transportation network can have major economic impact, he said.

State officials said motorists who use other routes instead of taking public transportation would face nightmarish commutes. Trains have been added to the Bay Area Rapid Transit light rail system that crosses San Francisco Bay.

The cost of the repairs will likely run into the tens of millions of dollars, and the state was seeking federal aid, said Will Kempton, director of California's transportation department.