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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Alice Peacock & Peter Diamond

Double-decker bus bursts into fireball as passengers flee 'frightening' scene

A bus exploded into flames while driving causing terrified passengers to flee for their lives.

The Fire Brigade confirmed their appliances rushed to the scene after receiving a call around 9.50am on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the service confirmed there had been close to 20 further calls about the incident following this initial alert.

Marlon Osborne, head of the transport operator, said the incident must have been “really frightening” for those involved.

“Thankfully all passengers were evacuated and there are no injuries,” he continued. “We are working closely with the emergency services and the operator to urgently investigate what happened.”

There were 20 passengers on board the London double decker bus, which had been travelling on route 333 bus near Brixton Hill and was operated by Arriva, he said.

An investigation would be launched by the transport agency in due course, to establish the cause of the fire, report Mirror Online.

A witness to the terrifying incident posted an image on Twitter, accompanied by the caption: “Well this is frightening!

“Bus in Brixton pulled into the stop and promptly caught on fire. Huge flames & crashing as bits of it were burned off.”

“Stay safe in the heat!” she added.

Another witness to the blaze shared a video online, showing the back of the bus enveloped in flames.

The clip, which appears to be taken through the window of a flat on the same road as the fire, showed the vehicle parked on the side of the road, just metres in front of a bus stop.

Footage from the scene showed the back of the bus enveloped in flames (@The_Tea_Man/Twitter)

The scene was hazy with grey smoke.

“Omg bus on fire #brixton,” they wrote alongside the video.

A tweet from BBC Radio London Travel said a section of the A23 at Brixton Hill was blocked between New Park Road and the A205 South Circular was blocked as a result of the fire.

“A23 #Brixton Hill is blocked between New Park Road and the A205 South Circular as a bus is on fire,” it said.

The incident comes on what is touted to be the hottest day of the year, with temperatures expected to peak at 34C this afternoon.

An NHS heatwave health alert has been issued for parts of England today as Brits prepare to bake in 34C heat, while a ‘Level 3’ warning is in force for London, the east and south-east of England.

It was not known whether the bus fire was at all linked to the rising temperatures.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a blaze broke out from a roof of a building in Chalk Farm Road, Camden, today.

A dramatic video from the scene shows the building, which is understood to house the Louis Coca shoe shop, completely alight, with large plumes of thick smoke billowing out of the building, MyLondon reports.

A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade confirmed that 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters were called to the scene, with part of the ground floor and most of a first-floor flat roof alight.

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