SINGAPORE: A taxi driver made a narrow escape on Thursday afternoon (Jul 11), moments before his vehicle caught fire.



The ComfortDelGro driver, who wanted to be identified only as Mr Yeo, said he had been driving along Middle Road during his afternoon shift when he noticed smoke coming from the car.





"White smoke started pouring out of the exhaust when I was driving and I parked at the side of the road before the front of the car started emitting black smoke. I quickly left the car with my things as the smoke increased."



Screengrab from a video shows firefighters working to extinguish a blazing taxi after it caught fire along Middle Road. (Screengrab: CNA reader)

Mr Yeo added that there were no passengers in the vehicle at the time of the incident and that he was not injured.



The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it responded to a fire near 31 Middle Road at about 4.30pm.

"The fire involving the engine compartment of a taxi was extinguished by SCDF using two water jets," it added.



Mr Yeo said the fire burned for about 10 minutes before it was extinguished.

Screengrab from a video shows a smoking taxi at Middle Road. (Screengrab: Abhishek Ravish)

Comfort DelGro said it is investigating the incident.

"We are thankful that our cabby has escaped unhurt. We will assist him the best we can," said the company's group chief corporate communications officer Tammy Tan.



"We are investigating the cause of the incident together with the manufacturer of the vehicle."

