UPDATE: Tourists escape tour bus fire unharmed, broken fuel line causes combustion
Authorities have confirmed that none of the near-two dozen passengers or tour operators were injured during the fire that consumed a safari bus while touring Tortola on Tuesday morning.
The bus caught fire while travelling up Joe’s Hill.
“All 23 passengers were able to exit the vehicle before anything,” Director of the Taxi and Livery Commission, Dameon Percival told BVI News after the fiery incident.
“I also got word that some of them even went to other beaches,” added Percival who said the visitors have largely remained in good spirits.
“They are perfectly fine about it. Based on the response I got from the team that was interacting with them, everybody seemed perfectly ok so, that’s a plus.”
Percival, who visited the scene of the incident, said an unofficial assessment from fire officers is that the fire was caused by a broken power-steering fuel line. This broken fuel line coupled with a hot engine environment resulted in the combustion, he explained.
The vehicle, which was also being occupied by its driver and his assistant, was destroyed.
“We’re just grateful and extremely happy that nobody was injured,” Percival said.
Previously Published Article
A safari bus believed to be carrying tourists has burst into flames.
The vehicle caught fire while travelling along Joe’s Hill on Tortola sometime Tuesday morning.
A photograph sent to our news centre indicates that firefighters have already responded and are on the scene.
When contacted for information on the incident, Chief Fire Officer Zebalon McLean told BVI News he was only just coming out of an unrelated meeting and had not yet been briefed on the reported incident.
It is not clear whether anyone was injured as details surrounding the fire are still sketchy.
BVI News will provide further details as it becomes available.
Provided photo of the scene of the fire reported on Joe’s Hill, Tortola.
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…grateful everyone made it off safely. Looks
like they took the IrMaria *special* tour that’s ends with a bang and lots of smoke! These buses need a more comprehensive vehicle inspection that I doubt DMV has capacity to execute. What the solution before tragedy befalls is?
Unregulated vehicles without proper maintenance dragging tourists around on overloaded busses. More incidents will occur. Great for tourism and the cruise business
Praise God no injuries.I do try to pray each day for the safety of taxi drivers and tourists alike,
Grateful everyone was accounted for and is okay. Everyone at the scène made sure that we were okay and treated well.
All that money these taxi man making and they still cant maintain their vehicles properly?????????????
You see, Honourable Vanterpool why a functioning fire department is vital to the continuity and stability of the tourism product.
Matters could have been quite worse, given the scenery of the event
Thankfully, no one was hurt and our guests will most likely return.
Hopefully, Mrs. Brutus was on hand to ensure the complete restoration of our guests and to mitigate any foreseen damages that could result from it.
“They are perfectly fine about it.
The director all he can say is”they are perfectly fine about it”!!! The quintessence of high ignorance and departmental neglect.
The buses have been running in poor condition for years! Only good faith and the Almighty why more incidents more serious not happening. Pay the inspectors who are working months without a salary. Dameon has served his time and not effective. The inspectors have been working without salary and none can get it together. The whole Communications Department is in shambles it’s a shame. This is a wake up call to have inspections on a regular basis and pay the man dem!! Don’t have another department pay them to take away shame and still owing months of salary!!!
The so called director is a sleeping!!!
Time to change…. Political refugee.
Perhaps caused by one of the satanic signs …
Your comment is unessary. Stop giving the Country négative publicity. That would spook a lot of people off.No one is confortable visiting a place where things like Satanic signs etc…is being mentioned.
I think clean, modern water taxi’s would be a good business opportunity. Safer too than riding with these old drivers speeding around on our pothole roads and hills.
Water taxi up Joes Hill? Might have been ok in the floods of August 2017!
To get to the beach. Instead of driving, they get there by boat. It sounds OK. But then accidents can happen, boats need maintenance, crew need training, etc.
Thank You to everyone who assisted us.Everyone was professional and made sure each and everyone of us was taken care of. Thank You.
They were fine about it so, some even went to other beaches. Their taxi bus went up in flames with all them in it, but it was nothing.
But that corner ain’t where they put back up them jumbie looking signs on the post?
Looking at the body lines of the cab, that is an old safari. Very old. These vehicles need to be subject to stringent inspections. On another note, the fire officers absolutely should be wearing breathing apparatus All of them. Basic firefighting 101.
What about fixing the road
Try to go up elevator road
This is probably the next big accident to happened