Passenger minibus catches fire while in motion in Antalya

In the Manavgat district of Antalya, smoke suddenly rising from the engine compartment of a passenger minibus, which had departed from the East Garage heading toward Kızılağaç Neighborhood, caused widespread panic in a short time. The vehicle, driven by Bayram Özen, turned from the D-400 highway onto a side road and was brought to an emergency stop in the Ulualan area.

After stopping the vehicle, Özen got out to check the engine compartment and realized that flames were rising rapidly. To ensure the safety of the passengers, the driver struggled to open the locked doors, first evacuating the passengers and then unloading the luggage.

Despite the rapid intervention of the Manavgat Fire Department teams affiliated with the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, the flames completely engulfed the vehicle, leaving the minibus unusable.

Describing the events that took place during the incident, driver Bayram Özen recounted the moment as follows:

"I noticed the smoke after getting onto the bypass road and turned onto a side road to avoid harming other vehicles. When I arrived at our current location, I got out of the vehicle to check where the smoke was coming from; when I opened the engine cover, flames suddenly erupted.

The doors were locked; I forced them open and my first priority was to get the customers off. Then we unloaded the suitcases from the luggage compartment. Even though the fire department arrived and intervened, the vehicle burned completely and became unusable. My consolation is that no one was harmed."

While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, a potential tragedy was averted thanks to the rapid evacuation and the driver's composure.

News Source: 12punto