An exit slip road on the M4 near Bristol will remain shut overnight after a National Express coach went up in flames. The M4 westbound at junction 15 for Swindon has been shut since the incident at around 3pm on Thursday (May 5).
Smoke could be seen billowing for miles after the fire which engulfed the coach and triggered a huge emergency response. A photo shared by National Highways shows the aftermath of the fire, which also caused extensive damage to the road surface.
As WiltshireLive reports, there was heavy traffic in Swindon at the time of the incident. All traffic was held on the motorway at 4pm, and released shortly after. It has since been confirmed that the exit slip road will remain shut overnight as repair works continue.
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An update at just before 5pm said: "The M4 J15 westbound exit slip road near road near Swindon will remain closed overnight for emergency road surface repairs following extensive damaged caused by a coach fire."
Earlier, it was confirmed that nobody was injured in the fire. It is not known how many passengers the National Express coach had at the time it went up in flames.
National Express said: “We can confirm a fire broke out on the 401 service from London to Swindon this afternoon. All passengers and crew were immediately evacuated to safety and there were no reported injuries.
"Emergency services quickly attended the scene and passengers were provided onward travel. We are cooperating with the authorities in their investigations into this incident."
Wiltshire Police said: "Shortly before 3pm today, we were called to reports of a coach on fire on the M4 near junction 15. Thankfully there were no reported injuries, it appears that the A419 feeding onto the M4 is backed up as only one lane is open on the J15 roundabout. Fire service also attended and the fire is now out."
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