A minibus van caught fire and burned out on North Shore Road, near Shelly Bay, this morning, causing traffic disruption in the area.

Onlookers watched as the white van, which had pulled off the main road into a side road, became engulfed by flames. A number of people who appeared to have been occupants of the van ran clear of the vehicle. As the blaze took hold of the vehicle flames reached more than 10 feet high and a thick, black plume of smoke rose more than a hundred feet into the air and was clearly visible, almost four miles away, from North Shore in Pembroke.

The handbrake on the burning van eventually failed and it rolled backwards onto North Shore Road where it continued to burn for a time.

A police spokesman said: “Details are limited at this time; however there were no reported injuries and the fire has since been extinguished by the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service.”

Traffic travelling in the area was being diverted on to Harrington Sound Road until the road was cleared.