"No one would have run away from this"

The bus that caught fire earlier today on the road around Tungudal in Skutulsfjörður had caught fire in Vestfjarða tunnel, according to an eyewitness to the incident.

"I was a bit alarmed when I realized that this was close to being a very fatal accident inside the tunnels because of the smoke that came from this fire, no one would have run away from it," says Þórður Bragason, an eyewitness who, according to his own words, was just a few minutes behind the bus.

He says in an interview with mbl.is that after the road was closed, he decided to drive back and then noticed the oil trail from the bus that went all the way up to the tunnel.

Could have been in the tunnel a minute later

He mentions that the amount of smoke was high and the speed of the smoke was also high.

"It starts by clearing out all the oxygen and then it returns that smoke so that those people on the bus and other passers-by, including myself, would all be in danger if this had only happened for just one minute before," Bragason says, who notes that although he doesn't know the exact time between the tunnels and where the bus stopped, it's almost over a minute.

"It would not have taken the bus minutes, rather seconds, or maybe a minute from when it comes out of the tunnel until it stops."

As you can see in Bragason's pictures, the smoke from the bus was very strong and he says the sequence of events was fast. The fire was at the back of the bus when he arrived, but the bus suddenly started to burn from one end to the other.

"That's what I thought on the way back to that huge plume of smoke I photographed. If this happened inside the tunnels, it would be out of all three outlets and no one would have had a way out," he says and adds that it is a matter of great luck. Especially considering that the fire started while driving, but he says it is quite clear that the fire did not start when the bus stopped on the road.

Explosions and panic

He says he heard loud explosions and noises when he was behind the bus.

"When the air cylinders for the brakes were exploding, there were loud bangs."

Then he says that the guide deserves praise for his actions after the fire broke out.

"I understood from a guide I spoke to from the same company on the next bus that it went smoothly. He was very organized himself, this guide from this company. He didn't see a police car, so he started blocking the road and telling people not to go near it and stuff like that, so I have to give them a lot of credit for thinking of everything that could happen."

The fire was extinguished

mbl.is has also received photos from Bragason's wife, Malín, showing the wreckage of the bus after the fire.

The entire available team of the Ísafjörður fire brigade were called out.

According to witnesses of the incident, the fire first started at the back of the bus, where the engine compartment is, and that the passengers left the bus calmly. The bus quickly caught fire.

On board were passengers from a cruise ship docked at Ísafjörður harbor. They were coming from an excursion down to Flateyri, Þingeyri, and Dynjandi waterfall.

Photos show that there were more buses close behind, and one of them picked up the passengers who were on the burnt bus.

All were umharmed and the road closed

The police in Vestfjörður confirmed today that all passengers got out unharmed and were taken from the scene into another bus. This is stated in the Facebook post of the police.

It also says that the road through Tungudalur Valley in Skutulsfjörður, where the fire broke out, was closed while firefighting and field investigations were carried out.

Helgi Jensson, police chief in the Westfjords, says that the police investigation department will look into the causes of the fire and what happened, and mentions that it seems that the fire started while driving.