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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Stephen Maguire

Shocking scenes as Bus Eireann bus bursts into flames with 16 people onboard

This is the moment a Bus Eireann Expressway bus went on fire in Co Donegal on Thursday evening.

The bus burst into flames on the outskirts of Letterkenny at the Dry Arch Roundabout around 8.30pm.

It was traveling to Dublin from Letterkenny and had only left the bus station two minutes earlier when it encountered trouble.

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The driver and all 15 passengers on board were safely evacuated. It is also understood that the passengers luggage was taken off the bus before the fire caught momentum.

The passengers were taken back to Letterkenny bus station and were put on a second bus for their journey to Dublin.

One passenger, who asked not to be named, told the Donegal Daily news website that passengers began to hear "small explosions." Smoke then began to come into the bus.

One passenger opened an emergency exit and all the passengers managed to get out.

Eye-witnesses said it appeared that the fire started at the rear of the bus. They also said the driver of the bus was standing along the road.

The woman said: "We were driving past it and all you could see was this huge fire in the distance and we suddenly noticed it was a bus on fire.

"It was pretty frightening. The fire brigade and Gardai were there pretty quickly but there was a huge traffic tailback."

Gardai and other emergency services rushed to the scene of the dramatic incident.

The road was immediately cordoned off to allow the fire service to extinguish the blaze.

In a statement, a Bus Eireann spokesperson said: "All 15 passengers on board our Expressway coach from Letterkenny to Dublin were safely evacuated after a fire broke out. This is an exceptionally rare occurrence in our fleet and will be thoroughly investigated.

"We’d like to thank the emergency services, our driver and passengers for their rapid and effective response. Passengers have been accommodated to continue their journey to Dublin on another vehicle. "

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