Commuters endured a nightmare journey last night after a car burst into flames on one of Bangkok’s busiest roads, turning rush hour into a gridlocked inferno.
At 8.44pm yesteryday, June 27, the Phra Ram Radio Centre received frantic reports that a vehicle was ablaze near Vibhavadi Rangsit Soi 22 in the Chom Phon subdistrict of Chatuchak district. Within minutes, fire and rescue crews from the Suthisan station raced to the scene, sirens wailing as traffic ground to a halt.
The drama unfolded in the far right inbound lane of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, where firefighters arrived to find a silver Toyota sedan, bearing Bangkok registration number ฌส 921, fully engulfed in flames.
Witnesses described plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the night sky as the fire took hold of the vehicle. “It looked like something out of an action film,” one motorist said.
Emergency teams wasted no time launching their operation, working swiftly to douse the inferno before it could spread or cause further damage.
After roughly 20 tense minutes, firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control. Luckily, there were no injuries or fatalities reported at the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with authorities examining the possibility of an electrical fault or fuel leak.
Due to the severity of the incident, officials were forced to close all main inbound lanes along Vibhavadi Road while emergency crews worked to clear the area. Vehicles were diverted to parallel lanes, leading to massive tailbacks and frustrated drivers stuck in traffic that stretched for kilometres.
Police and traffic officers were deployed to help manage the congestion and keep motorists informed as the clean-up operation continued late into the evening, reported KhaoSod.
Officials have urged drivers to ensure their vehicles are properly maintained to prevent similar accidents, which can be life-threatening and cause serious disruption.
“This incident highlights how quickly a fire can escalate,” an emergency services spokesperson said. “We’re grateful no one was hurt, and we appreciate the public’s patience as we secured the scene.”
By 9.30pm, the charred remains of the Toyota were removed, and traffic gradually began to return to normal.
The story Rush hour inferno: Car fire sparks Vibhavadi traffic chaos (video) as seen on Thaiger News.
