Johannesburg Metrobus on fire

A column of thick black smoke bellowed above the afternoon traffic on Hendrik Potgiter road, just off Gordon road, in Florida North yesterday, causing traffic to back up a few km as motorists slowed down to take snaps of the burning Johannesburg Metrobus bus.

The bus was from Heldekruin in the West Rand, transporting passengers at around 16:30 to Gandhi Square in the CBD when the driver pulled over from the fast lane to stop the burning bus. “We saw the bus in the fast lane with the flames. We thought maybe it was a tyre.

The other cars stopped to allow the bus to move from the fast lane and stop,” said a petrol attendant at the Total petrol station where the bus passed before pulled over, approximately 100 meters away. According to the petrol attendant, there were visible flames coming from the bus’ engine at the back as the bus made its way towards town.

After stopping, the driver and the passengers left the bus and only after a while, the bus burst into flames. “There were passengers inside, but it really burnt long after the driver and passengers had left,” confirmed the petrol attendant.

A Metrobus supervisor who did not wish to be named said they were called from the depot to rush to the scene but it would be the driver who will know if there were any passengers in the bus and what happened.

He however confirmed that the bus was from Heldekruin going to Gandhi Square at around 16:30. “It was a lady driver, Ms Rametse. She has gone to the depot now,” said the supervisor who later changed and said the driver went to the hospital to be checked.

“We are trying to remove the bus and take it back to the depot. All we know is that she heard a big bang at the back [where the engine is] and she stopped. When we arrived she was out on the road. No one was injured,” he added.

Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, confirmed the incident and said no injuries were reported. The doubledecker bus burnt to ashes in rush hour traffic to the annoyance of road users who had to spend more time on the road. Johannesburg Metro police closed the one side of Hendrik Potgiter road to allow firefighters to battle the blaze while the traffic got worse on the opposite side of the road due to spectator value.

Metrobus spokesperson, Esther Dreyer could not be reached through the land-line number provided by Metrobus staff at the scene.