A sleeper bus heading to Nghe An caught fire on the highway.

While traveling on the highway in the direction of Hanoi-Ninh Binh, a sleeper bus suddenly burst into flames. Fortunately, dozens of passengers quickly escaped. The fire caused a prolonged traffic jam on the Phap Van expressway.

The scene of the fire (Photo: Provided by reader Pham Thinh)

The incident occurred at approximately 4 PM today, January 27th, on the Phap Van-Cau Gie expressway, in the section passing through Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi.

Speaking to Vietnam+, Lieutenant Colonel Do Manh Ninh, Head of Traffic Police Team No. 8, said that at the time mentioned, a sleeper bus traveling on the Hanoi-Nghe An route suddenly encountered a problem at kilometer 211 on National Highway 1B. A fire quickly broke out and engulfed the 40-seat bus.

"At that time, there were 40 people on the bus. We had not been informed that there were any foreign passengers," Lieutenant Colonel Ninh affirmed.

Panicked by the incident, the driver pulled the vehicle into the emergency lane. All passengers also quickly ran out to safety.

At that moment, traffic police officers stationed near the turnoff to National Highway 1A immediately arrived on the scene.

"However, because the fire was so intense, the police force couldn't intervene much," said the captain of Team 8.

Due to the heavy traffic at the time of the incident, it took 40 minutes for the fire department to arrive. By then, the 40-seater bus had been completely burned to a crisp.

The Phap Van-Cau Gie expressway is experiencing traffic congestion (Photo: Provided by reader Pham Thinh)

According to Lieutenant Colonel Ninh, to ensure traffic flow, police directed vehicles to take the Do Xa turnoff onto National Highway 1A. By 5 PM, vehicles were able to travel normally on the Phap Van-Cau Gie expressway.

According to observations at the scene, the passenger bus was completely burned, leaving only the frame. Many of the passengers' belongings and property were also severely damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Regarding transportation options for passengers, Lieutenant Colonel Ninh stated: Traffic police have flagged down other vehicles on the same route to transport the passengers back to their hometowns for Tet (Lunar New Year). Some others have also called relatives to pick them up.

Currently, the Hanoi Traffic Police Department is coordinating with the Phu Xuyen district police to clarify the cause of the incident.

According to Vietnam+