No fewer than 14 passengers narrowly escaped death by a whisker while the driver sustained a minor injury when the bus they were travelling in suddenly went up in flames along the Old Niger Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State.

It was gathered on Thursday that the incident, which happened on Wednesday, created panic and heavy gridlock on the bridge for several hours as passers-by and firefighters battled to quench the inferno.

The vehicle, a Toyota Hiace bus, was said to be heading to Asaba, Delta State when it suddenly caught up in flames in the middle of the bridge.

An eyewitness near the scene and trader in the area, who identified himself as Obiora Uzor, said the passengers had managed to jump out of the bus one after the other before the fire finally engulfed the whole vehicle.

Although no life was lost in the inferno, the eyewitness, however, noted that the driver was not lucky enough as he was affected by the flames, which started from the front of the vehicle.

?The bus suddenly went up in flames while in motion and caused panic on the bridge as the passengers struggled to escape having been caught up by the fire. No one knew the cause of the fire.

?It caused a heavy gridlock to and fro the bridge as motorists and other passersby were battling to extinguish the fire before the arrival of firefighters who later controlled the inferno,? the witness added.

When contacted, the Media and Publicity Unit of the Anambra State Fire Service confirmed the incident, in a statement on Thursday.

The statement read, ?The Anambra State Fire Service on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, received a distress alert at 0930 hours reporting of a vehicle (bus) engulfed by fire along the Bridge-head, Onitsha.

?A crew of firemen and firefighting equipment were immediately deployed to the rescue. They extinguished the fire and ensured that it did not affect other vehicles that were plying the bridge.

?The cause of the incident is unknown. No life was lost. The public was advised to alert the fire service in time whenever there is a fire incident and to install fire extinguishers in their vehicles. Remember, fire kills but, we can prevent it.?

It said the firefighters left the scene in the afternoon after extinguishing the fire.

At the scene on Thursday evening, it was observed that the vehicle, which burnt beyond recognition, was still at the scene of the incident, but pushed to a corner at the bridge to prevent an obstruction of movement. (The PUNCH)