Marylebone bus up in flames as passengers evacuate
Terrified passengers were forced to flee a double-decker bus after it burst into flames in a west London street.
Video footage captured on social media showed flames on the roof and a smoke-filled interior of a number 74 bus, which operates between Putney and Bloomsbury.
The incident happened at around 4.30pm yesterday in Portman Square, Marylebone.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) rushed to the scene after taking 17 calls about the incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
A spokesman for the LFB said all passengers managed to get off the bus and that there were no reports of any injuries, although one man needed treatment for smoke inhalation.
He said: “At this stage it is not known what started the fire, nor is it clear which bus route was affected.
“A video shows the bus flaming from the rear end moments before a fire engine raced onto the scene to put it out. By this time all the passengers had safely left the burning bus.
“The fire services received the first call regarding the incident at 4.24pm, and one crew from the nearby Soho station arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire by 4.46pm.”
Picture: Wikimedia Commons / Martin49