Residents in an Essex town have been left “scared and shaken” following amublance ‘explosion’ – the incident was caught on camera by nearby queuing motorists with smoke seen billowing across the sky for miles
Dramatic photographs captured the moment an ambulance ‘exploded’ and caused nearby houses and windows to shake in Essex this evening.
Three fire crews rushed to the scene shortly after 7.15pm on Monday, March 31 on the northbound A130 Sadlers Farm roundabout in Basildon. Motorists reported hearing “two loud explosions” and took to social media to share images of the blaze.
Photographs taken by motorists queuing in standstill nearby traffic along the A130, from the direction of Chelmsford, show smoke billowing across the sky from a distance of around two miles away. Flames spread to nearby grassland around where the ambulance came to a stop near a grass verge.
READ MORE: Police offer £10k reward for information about Alexander Sloley who disappeared 17 years ago
Traffic was queued back around two miles on the A130 as a reuslt of the incident, motorists reported the road was cleared within an hour and traffic returned to normal. It is unclear whether the ambulance vehicle has been recovered.
Several residents took to Facebook to report hearing “two explosions”. One local resident said: “We in woodside- house shook” another said: “and me my windows shook”, a third said: “I wondered what the 2 big bangs were. Hope everyone is ok.” Another resident said: “I’m by Woodside and our caravans shook I am shaking never been so scared in my life”.
Thankfully no crew members were injured during the incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but the ambulance appears completely destoryed from the photographs taken at the scene.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “The ambulance belongs to a private ambulance service acting for us. None of the crew were injured in the incident and the ambulance was not carrying a patient at the time.”
An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed: “We were called to a vehicle fire on the A130 northbound, Sadlers Farm to Rayleigh Spur, today at 7.21pm. Crews from Basildon (two) and Rayleigh Weir attended and extinguished the fire by 8.07pm.”
The Mirror has also contacted Essex Police for a comment.
