A pregnant woman and her partner narrowly escaped a raging inferno that engulfed their car and closed a major Sydney tunnel.
Gretta and Sebastian Lough were driving along Eastern Distributor near the Randwick/Bondi exit at lunchtime on Thursday when smoke began coming from the engine of their Hyundai.
The car burst into flames, causing emergency sprinklers in the tunnel to turn on and traffic to come to a screeching halt.
“Smoke was coming out and cars were honking at us when we had the hazards on,” Gretta told Nine News.
“At first I was scared, but I knew I had to calm down.”
His partner said they stopped and abandoned the car.
“I thought, wow, the car is on fire. I want to get my pregnant wife to safety, so we both got out of the car and ran towards the fire truck,” he told Seven News.
NSW Fire and Rescue mechanic Belinda Jackson took the couple to safety.
“I was quite distraught to see his car on fire and I just wanted to make sure he was okay,” Mrs Jackson said.
Gretta (pictured receiving treatment after the incident) and Sebastian Lough were driving along Eastern Distributor near the Randwick/Bondi exit at lunchtime on Thursday when smoke began coming out of the engine of their Hyundai.
The couple’s Hyundai was reduced to ashes (pictured)
The incident caused the closure of the Eastern Distributor in both directions, paralyzing traffic.
Some drivers and their passengers got out of their vehicles and left the tunnel on foot.
The southbound lanes of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel were also closed.
There were huge traffic jams stretching 7 km to Roseberry for traffic heading north.
Both tunnels have since reopened, but drivers are warned to expect delays.
The car fire caused traffic chaos at Sydney’s Eastern Distributor as emergency services stopped traffic in both directions (pictured, smoke billowing from the tunnel)