Car engulfed by flames along EDSA; no one hurt, traffic snarled

MANILA, Philippines—A vehicle traversing Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, or EDSA, on Monday afternoon was engulfed in flames, snarling traffic for over 20 minutes, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

A BMW sedan, its license plate still being determined by authorities, emitted smoke before fire gobbled the sports car at about 5:24 p.m., said Chez Ignacio of the MMDA Metrobase.

The driver, whose identity was also being ascertained as of posting time, managed to leave the car just as smoke became visible in the vehicle.

Responding firefighters put out the blaze, which occurred underneath the Metro Rail Transit 3’s Cubao station, in front of Farmer’s Market in Araneta Center, Ignacio said.

The vehicle was still at the incident area, and traffic enforcers were awaiting a tow truck to pull it out of the road. Traffic was severely affected by the incident, with vehicles traveling along the northbound direction of EDSA slowed to a crawl.

The tailend of the traffic buildup was recorded to be at Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City.

Vehicles were advised to take alternate routes.