A car caught fire inside India’s first undersea road tunnel on Mumbai’s Coastal Road, bringing traffic to a standstill for over an hour and triggering panic among other motorists on Wednesday afternoon. No one was injured in the incident and the route reopened around 1.30 pm after the burnt vehicle was removed.
According to police, the blaze was reported at 12.25 pm when a Maruti Ignis in which four members of a family were travelling from Thane to Churchgate caught fire inside the tunnel.
“We were heading towards South Mumbai when a person in a passing vehicle alerted us that something had fallen from our car. I immediately asked my driver to stop. As soon as I got out, I noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. Immediately, my mother and other family members came out. Thankfully, all of us escaped,” said 60-year-old Sudhir Nair, a Mira Road resident who was travelling with three family members, including his elderly mother.
I have never experienced anything like it. Entered the Coastal Road tunnel from Worli and in a couple of minutes saw 100s of people running towards us. Asked one person and he said “aage aag lagi hai”.
I’m not sure what was on fire or if there even was one, but many people just… pic.twitter.com/W3vnWb1g41
The fire led to the closure of the affected tunnel as firefighters, police and traffic personnel rushed to the spot. According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the blaze was extinguished shortly afterwards, following which the damaged vehicle was removed and traffic resumed.
According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyanarayan Chaudhary, “The coastal road tunnel from Breach Candy to Nariman Point was closed after a car caught fire… no one was injured in the incident.”
Around 1.30 pm, Chaudhary said traffic had started resuming after the fire was extinguished and the vehicle removed. “The fire has been extinguished. North-bound traffic has already started. One lane on the south-bound side will be opened shortly. Traffic will return to normal soon,” he said.
Police said the family immediately alerted the control room after stopping the vehicle. Within minutes, a patrol vehicle from Gaondevi police station reached the spot and evacuated all four occupants from the tunnel safely. “They are still in a state of shock. We will record their detailed statements once their condition becomes normal,” a DB Marg police officer said.
Traffic crawls along the Mumbai Coastal Road after the reopening of the MCRP tunnel.
The incident triggered panic inside the tunnel, with several motorists abandoning their vehicles and running towards the exit.
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Shaunak Modi, a resident of Andheri who was headed towards his workplace in Girgaon through the coastal road tunnel told Express, “I entered the tunnel and barely 100- 200 metres into the tunnel, I saw there was immense traffic. While I initially sensed there had been an accident, I suddenly saw hundreds of people running towards my car and the exit side. It all happened within five minutes. When I asked someone what had happened, they told me that there was a fire. My first instinct was to sit inside the car and wait. But soon, all the cars started to take U-turns and exit, compelling me to drive back as well.”
Viren Shah, who was inside the tunnel when the fire broke out, said, “I was driving from Worli towards Marine Drive when I saw flames less than 100 feet away from my car. People got out of their vehicles and started running towards the Worli exit. I also left my car and ran. Several vehicles started reversing inside the tunnel.”
Nair credited fellow motorists and the police with ensuring his family’s safety. “We are safe because of the helping nature of Mumbai’s citizens. Almost everyone stopped their vehicles and rushed to help us. I do not know who informed the police, but they reached within a few minutes and safely escorted us out of the tunnel,” he said.
Smoke from the Mumbai tunnel fire (Nayonika Bose)
“While I managed to escape, the incident was very scary. We could see no adequate signs, no proper emergency exits. The entire experience was shocking,” Shah said.
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Modi added, “While it is natural for people to panic, some signages pointing towards exit would have been of huge help in such a situation. Information about the directions towards emergency exits should also be made publicly available to ensure that people are aware of what to do.”
The gutted remains of the car being towed out of the tunnel
While the fire was doused within minutes, the smell of smoke continued to linger in the tunnel long after it was opened for traffic. In the aftermath of the incident, long queues of vehicles were reported across entry and exit points near Breach Candy and Lotus Jetty junction.
This is not the first instance of blaze reported at the coastal road. Previously on September 25, 2025, another car caught fire along the south-bound carriageway of coastal road disrupting traffic on the route.
The Mumbai Coastal Road’s twin tunnels are 2.07 km long each, with nearly 1 km running beneath the Arabian Sea, making them India’s first undersea road tunnels. They are equipped with smoke extraction systems, fire-fighting infrastructure, emergency refuge areas and cross passages designed to facilitate evacuation during emergencies.
Nayonika Bose is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau. While in the early stages of her career, her focused reporting on local governance and community welfare already demonstrates clear Expertise and Trustworthiness in covering essential civic issues impacting Mumbai's residents.
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Manish Kumar Pathak is a dedicated journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Mumbai. His work demonstrates substantial Expertise and Authority across the complex field of crime reporting, with a strong focus on law enforcement actions, fraud, and cyber security challenges facing the metropolitan region.
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Traffic crawls along the Mumbai Coastal Road after the reopening of the MCRP tunnel.
Smoke from the Mumbai tunnel fire (Nayonika Bose)
The gutted remains of the car being towed out of the tunnel
