A heavily pregnant woman and her partner narrowly escaped a raging inferno that engulfed their car and shut down a major Sydney tunnel.
Gretta and Sebastian Lough were driving through the Eastern Distributor near the Randwick/Bondi exit at lunchtime on Thursday when smoke started billowing from the engine of their Hyundai.
The car burst into flames, prompting the emergency sprinklers to come on in the tunnel and traffic to come to an abrupt standstill.
‘There was smoke coming and cars were beeping at us we had our hazards on,’ Gretta told Nine News.
‘I was freaking out at first but I knew I had to calm down.’
Her partner said they came to a stop and abandoned the car.
‘I was like oops the car’s on fire, I want to get my pregnant wife to a safe spot so we both got out of the car and ran to this fire truck,’ he told Seven News.
NSW Fire and Rescue mechanic Belinda Jackson pulled the couple to safety.
‘She was quite distressed watching her car on fire, and I just wanted to make sure she was OK,’ Ms Jackson said.
Gretta (pictured receiving treatment after the incident) and Sebastian Lough were driving through the Eastern Distributor near the Randwick / Bondi exit at lunchtime on Thursday when smoke started billowing from the engine of their Hyundai
The couple’s Hyundai was burnt to a crisp (pictured)
The incident led to the closure of the Eastern Distributor in both directions, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Some drivers and their passengers clambered out of their vehicles and left the tunnel on foot.
The southbound lanes of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel were also closed.
There were huge tailbacks stretching over 7km to Roseberry for traffic heading north.
Both tunnels have since reopened but drivers are warned to expect delays.
The car fire caused traffic mayhem on Sydney’s Eastern Distributor as emergency services stopped traffic in both directions (pictured, smoke billowing out of the tunnel)