The day turned out to be quite unfortunate for two young people. They were driving from Valmiera to the airport, and nothing foreshadowed that the car could have problems, but just before reaching Riga, they had to stop and jump out of the vehicle, reports the Degpunktā program (TV3).
Not far from the gas stations in the Bergi area, heading towards Riga, traffic was heavily congested. On the roadside, firefighters were finishing extinguishing a fire. 30 meters away, at a police car, two young people met with excitement, recounting their unfortunate day — it was the girl's birthday.
They were driving from Valmiera to the airport to meet their friend — the owner of the car. Less than an hour remained until their destination, but for a completely unexpected and unpredictable reason, the driver had to stop.
"Right here next to the steering wheel, smoke started pouring from the air vent. I screamed, ‘Stop right now!’ We stopped, and within a few seconds, small flames appeared," said the passenger of the car, Liva.
"In 20 seconds, the car was already fully engulfed in flames; there was no time for thinking or anything. We quickly jumped out, grabbed our things, and called. And here we are. (Degpunktā: Were there any smells, something suspicious beforehand?) No, it all happened so suddenly. No smoke, no smell. Just suddenly, that’s all," said the Volkswagen driver.
Even before the flames became visible, the driver tried to find the source of the smoke, but it was unsuccessful:
"At first, I wanted to open the hood, but as soon as I started looking for how to open it, the flames from where the fire started nearly burst into my face. (Degpunktā: Did you burn your fingers?) No, everything is fine."
The first to arrive at the scene were municipal police officers, who cordoned off the section of the road, leaving only one lane open for traffic. Right behind them came firefighters and medics, but by that time, the car was already fully engulfed in flames.
In half an hour, the car had turned into a pile of charred metal, and the roadside was filled with foaming liquids. Fortunately, both young people escaped with a severe fright. Immediately after the incident, they reported what happened to the car owner, who was also in shock and could not imagine what could have caused the fire.
