A car caught fire on the Coastal Road in Mumbai on Thursday morning, following which the traffic movement was halted on both sides of the route. The incident, which took place at around 9:30 AM, brought the traffic to a complete standstill, causing massive congestion as vehicles remained stranded in long queues.
Mumbai Traffic Police also took to X to confirm the fire incident and the subsequent traffic snarls near the Coastal Road tunnel. The fire broke out in a car inside the southbound section of the tunnel around Tardeo.
“Traffic movement is stopped at Coastal Road (Tardeo) southbound and northbound due to a car fire,” the police posted on X.
Visuals of the burning vehicle have surfaced on social media, with flames and thick plumes of smoke emanating from the car. The car burst into flames inside the south-bound tunnel of the Coastal Road.
Two fire engines rushed to the spot from the Breach Candy exit to douse the flames inside the tunnel. The fire was successfully stopped from spreading within the tunnel. No casualties or injuries were reported.
Visuals of vehicles moving at a snail's pace during the traffic jam were also shared by people on the internet.
Due to the incident, traffic was diverted at Haji Ali and at the Worli connector, officials told news agency PTI.
The city traffic police department said the traffic was cleared to return to normalcy on the route about 30 minutes after the intimation.