An electric double decker bus burst into flames in London this morning, causing rush hour chaos as terrified witnesses reported hearing a “huge bang”. The Mail has more.
Clouds of smoke billowed from the vehicle in the centre of Wimbledon after it caught fire at about 7.20am, with firefighters setting up an 80ft (25m) cordon.
Three fire engines and 15 firefighters raced to the scene, with dramatic photographs showing the blaze destroyed the rear of the bus and blew out the back windows.
As police confirmed there were no injuries but urged motorists to avoid the scene, local resident Max Pashley told City AM: “We heard a huge bang. We were terrified.”
Another witness, Roderick Cameron, tweeted a photo of the flames and said: “Not what we expect to see on the school run. Bus on fire – and the fumes are awful.”
The Optare Metrodecker 1050 bus operates route 200 from Mitcham to Raynes Park, and it has been run by Go-Ahead London from the Merton garage since June 2021.
The blaze on Alwyne Road led to Wimbledon Hill Road being partially blocked with congestion to Wimbledon Village southbound and to the Broadway northbound.
A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman told MailOnline: “Firefighters have been called to a fire involving a bus on Wimbledon Hill Road in Wimbledon.
“Part of a double-decker electric bus is alight. A 25-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution and road closures are in place. There are currently no reports of any injuries.
“The Brigade was called at 7.21am. Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters from Wimbledon, New Malden and Wandsworth fire stations are at the scene.” …
Electric buses have been carrying passengers in London since 2014 when Boris Johnson was Mayor, and there are about 1,000 now in operation across the capital.
Daily Sceptic regular contributor Guy de la Bédoyère said: “I took that bus (no. 200) every day as a kid in the 1960s through Wimbledon. I’ll tell you this for nothing: it never burst into flames.”
Meanwhile, in a separate story, the Mail reports that “the grief-stricken mother of a model killed in an e-bike battery fire in a London flat has called for a blanket ban on e-bikes. Sofia Duarte, 21, died when a blaze caused by a converted e-bike battery ripped through a flat block on Old Kent Road in Bermondsey, southeast London on New Year’s Day 2023”.
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