A charter bus full of people from New York experienced an emergency evacuation when the vehicle caught fire Saturday in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Flames and thick black smoke could be seen pouring out of the bus in the parking lot of a Madison Street shopping center. The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames by 1:20 p.m. and they eventually spread.
Video shared by witnesses shows how the intense flames damaged part of a Madison Place storefront.
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The bus belongs to a charter bus company transporting passengers from New York to Massachusetts. An employee told NBC10 Boston they were making a stop at their Worcester office and they don't know what caused the fire. Thankfully, everyone got out safely and no injuries were reported.
There are a number of businesses in shopping center, including a barber shop next-door. Many of the employees and customers ran out to the parking lot until the fire department came and extinguished the flames.
One of the customers who was there when it happened said the bus appeared to be smoking when it pulled into the parking lot. He said there were about 20 passengers on the bus, and that it looked like gas was coming out from the bottom of the bus.
"It was just smoking and everybody came out. They got all their stuff out of the van and I think some gasoline dropped from the tank and the fire started from the ground up, it just went all up there and burned the front of the building," Enger Paulino said. "The barbershop was untouched. Thank God no one was injured."
A New York City Express employee told NBC10 Boston that they arranged for another bus to take the passengers back to New York later Saturday.
There was no immediate word on what may have caused the fire.
