A city bus caught fire on the Vincent Auriol bridge around 5 PM. Fortunately, the passengers, as well as the driver, were able to exit the vehicle. They had a close call, to make a pun. The bus from line 4, connecting Saint Sylvestre to the Pasteur Hospital, seems to have had an issue with the LPG tank. The impressive fire required the quick intervention of emergency services: firefighters and police. The firefighters took an hour to stop the fire. A safety cordon was put in place due to fear of an explosion. The bus stopped a few meters from a gas station. On LPG buses, a safety system prevents explosions. It worked very well.
The east of the city was greatly disrupted by this incident. Motorists exiting the highway at the Ariane level to return to the center of Nice found themselves trapped. Maréchal Lyautey Avenue was cut off at the Vincent Auriol Bridge. Giant traffic jams, thick smoke, fire and police sirens, numerous onlookers, TV cameras: the eastern district of Nice was very animated on this late Tuesday afternoon.
