Moment car bursts into flames at Gatwick Airport as thick smoke pours from bonnet in front of screaming onlookers
THIS is the dramatic moment a car erupted into flames at Gatwick Airport this afternoon.
Video footage captures the car smoking as it waits at an exit barrier before it quickly catches fire and becomes engulfed in flames.
Explosions can be heard as the tyres burst – and the car soon becomes completely destroyed.
A witness to the incident said the car, which appears to be a dark-coloured Volkswagen, pulled up to the exit barrier in Car Park 6 and “started smoking”.
The driver of a nearby AA van jumped out with a fire extinguisher and tried to tend to the incident, the onlooker said, but nothing could stop the smoke.
Flames began rising up out of the bonnet and the car soon “erupted” into a fire, the man said.
Firefighters arrived on scene quickly and the blaze has since been put out.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (WSFRS) also sent two fire engines to the blaze at around 1.30pm.
The car fire temporarily suspended access to the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport.
The witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It was quite traumatic as it was a full on blaze.
“People were screaming as the tyres were blowing out – and it sounded like explosions or gunshots. I saw the whole thing.
“The vehicle pulled up to the barriers and then it started smoking.
“A man in an AA van got out with a fire extinguisher but he couldn’t put out the smoke.
“The smoke turned into flames and then the car erupted into a full blazing inferno.
“The pillar next to the car even started catching fire and burning.”
The man, who was on a seven-hour layover and had gone outside to get some fresh air, said he believes the driver escaped the fire.
He said: “A person seemed to climb out of the car when it started smoking – but I couldn’t really see.
“I don’t know how many people there were.”
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “The airport Fire Service responded to a vehicle fire outside a North Terminal car park this afternoon. The fire has now been resolved.
“Car access to the North Terminal was temporarily suspended while we dealt with the incident, but have since reopened.”
A WSFRS spokesperson added: “We are still urging residents living nearby to avoid the area near to the north terminal carpark to ensure safety of the public, staff and other airport users.”