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THESE were the dramatic scenes when a car burst into flames during early morning rush hour on the M50.
A blue Renault Clio suddenly went on fire near the Leopardstown Interchange on the southbound lane of the M50.
Flames can be seen bursting from the engine of the vehicle, which had to stop suddenly on the motorway.
It is understood no one was injured in the incident, which happened just before 8.30am today.
However, traffic was backed up for a more than a kilometre as the Clio stalled in the middle of the motorway.
“There was major, major disruption,” an eyewitness told the Evening Herald.
“And the rubberneckers in the other lane who were not involved at all were causing big problems as well,” he added.
The man, who was returning from dropping his son to school, said he noticed smoke on the motorway from a distance.
As he approached, he saw the car “sitting in the middle of the road in the middle lane on fire”.
“The traffic was backed up to as far as I could see,” the man said.
A Dublin Fire Brigade tender and a recovery truck were on the scene but the presence of an ambulance or gardai was not required.
The main problem for motorists was the smoke billowing from the vehicle which affected visibility for motorists.
Aoife Carragher, of AA Roadwatch, told the Herald: “The worst part of rush hour was over but a lot of people were trying to get to work in the nearby Sandyford Industrial Estate. At one point traffic was backed up to the Dundrum exit, which is 1.5km away.”
The incident was cleared after 40 minutes.
