An ambulance carrying a patient caught fire on the Dhaka–Mawa Expressway on Monday due to a mechanical fault that overheated the engine.

Witnesses said that the incident occurred around 2:00pm on the Dhaleshwari Bridge in the Kuchiamora area of Sirajdikhan upazila.

The patient and six other passengers managed to get out of the vehicle unhurt in time.

According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, the ambulance was travelling from Dhaka Medical College Hospital to Jhenaidah, carrying a patient along with the relatives.

Fire service officials said that as the ambulance reached the Dhaleshwari Bridge, a mechanical problem caused the engine to become overheated, triggering a fire and thick smoke.

The driver immediately stopped the vehicle, allowing the patient and all passengers to get off quickly before the fire engulfed the ambulance, witnesses said.

Sirajdikhan Fire Service inspector Arif Anwar said that firefighters rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control.

‘Although the ambulance was damaged in the fire, all seven passengers are safe and unharmed,’ he added.