SOME 20 passengers on a private coach had a narrow escape after it caught fire on the M1 motorway.
The blaze started in the coach’s engine compartment while it was travelling into Belfast on Saturday evening.
The vehicle had to be pulled over at the hard shoulder at junction two at Stockman’s Lane and all 20 passengers on board managed to exit the vehicle uninjured.
Crews from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire and the damaged coach has since been removed from the motorway.
NIFRS district commander Karl Dorris said they are thankful all the passengers were able to exit the vehicle safely.
"It seems the fire started in the engine compartment and the driver actually drove on for some distance before realising the problem," he said.
"Once he did, he pulled the coach over and got everyone out. There were 20 people on board and thankfully no one was injured. We are treating it as accidental.
"We sent three appliances to the scene to ensure the fire was extinguished, but everyone was safely out by the time we got there so it was a good result."
