Fire engulfs highway bus on Shin-Tomei Expressway

OKAZAKI, Aichi -- Flames enveloped a highway bus on the Shin-Tomei Expressway on the morning of Sept. 9, consuming the entire vehicle before being extinguished about an hour later, it has been learned.

The 40 passengers and one crew member aboard the bus evacuated and no injuries were reported, according to Aichi Prefectural Police's highway unit and other sources.

At around 8:45 a.m., the driver of a bus operated by JR Tokai Bus Co. bound for Tokyo from Nagoya called police, saying, "The bus is on fire." The bus was standing in the inbound lane of the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, at the time.

The driver was alerted to the fire when an engine trouble beep went off at around 8:40 a.m. while the bus was traveling along the expressway, according to the police highway unit and other sources. As smoke was spewing out of the rear of the vehicle, the driver stopped the bus on the shoulder of the highway and checked the vehicle, when he noticed fire coming from near the rear engine.

According to JR Tokai Bus, no abnormalities had been detected with the bus during an inspection prior to its departure from near Nagoya Station at 7:45 a.m. The bus had been scheduled to arrive near Tokyo Station at 1:24 p.m. via Shinjuku. The prefectural police are investigating the cause of the fire.

Following the incident, traffic between the Toyota-Higashi Junction and the Okazaki-Higashi Interchange was temporarily suspended.