Traffic around Table View and Killarney Gardens in Cape Town was severely disrupted on Monday morning (27 July) after a MyCiti bus caught alight at the MyCiti bus station in Killarney.

The bus station itself, close to the intersection with Silverstone Road, was also engulfed in flames, causing major infrastructure damage.

Roads disrupted

Sue van der Linde, ward councillor, shared a picture of the burning bus and bus station on her social media page, urging motorists to avoid the area. Traffic was disrupted on Koeberg, Potsdam as well as Blaauwberg Road. Traffic on the nearby Gie Road was also affected.

Smoke was seen billowing kilometres away, while fire engines responding to the incident approached down Gie Road.

The City of Cape Town’s urban mobility directorate said in a statement that an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. The bus has been destroyed and there is extensive damage to the station that will remain closed until further notice, the directorate said.

No injuries were reported.

The fire was reported shortly before 09:00.

The City said its fire services assisted in putting out the fire, and that traffic was diverted while these efforts were ongoing.

Investigation

“I’ve been told that the bus driver heard an unusual sound when he arrived at the station. The next moment, he noticed smoke coming from the front of the bus. Thankfully, all the passengers and the staff were safely evacuated before it got worse,” said Rob Quintas, Mayco member for urban mobility.

He said they were notified that a protest had taken place further down Potsdam Road a few minutes before the incident, and that there is an investigation underway to determine the cause of the fire, and whether there are any links between the protest and the fire. Apart from their own internal investigation, the matter has also been reported to the police, Quintas said.

“This incident will have a major impact on the commuters who make use of the Killarney station. This is a massive blow to our operations as this is a very popular route,” said Quintas.

Commuters have been urged to make use of the Potsdam station on the corner of Potsdam and Blaauwberg Road in coming months while repairs are underway.

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