Hyundai Sonata car specialists from South Korea will be
dispatched to help Singapore transport operator ComfortDelGro
investigate why two of its taxis caught fire in separate incidents
in the past two weeks.
On 24 April, a Comfort Hyundai Sonata taxi burst into flames in
a tunnel on the Central Expressway (CTE), causing a massive traffic
jam. Then on Tuesday a second such taxi caught fire along the
Pan-Island Expressway (PIE). In both cases, no one was injured.
“We are very concerned about the safety of our drivers and their
passengers. And given that this is the second such incident in
recent weeks involving our Sonata taxis, we are doubling up efforts
to make sure we pin point the cause,” said ComfortDelGro
spokesperson Tammy Tan.
She said that the exact cause of the fire is still not known but
several possibilities, including a shorting of the electrical
circuitry, has not been ruled out.
The manufacturer of the taxis, Komoco Motors, said that next week
it will be sending a specialist team of technicians to conduct a
full investigation at all ComfortDelGro taxi service centres.
The team will “make random inspections of all high-usage taxis and
ensure minimum recurrence of the incidents”, it added.
A Korean engineer from Hyundai Motor Company’s headquarters in
Seoul will also be flown to Singapore to assist with investigation
team, according to Komoco.
Once the cause of the incidents has been determined, ComfortDelGro
will be recalling taxis to ensure that such an incident does not
happen again, Tan said.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they were alerted to
the Tuesday taxi fire around 12.45pm and they promptly dispatched
one fire engine, one Red Rhino and two fire motorbikes to the
scene.
According to taxi operator ComfortDelGro, the driver of the taxi
stopped her taxi at the road shoulder after she saw white smoke
emerging from her car bonnet.
The driver then quickly drove to the road shoulder and got out of
the cab. Minutes later, she noticed flames coming out of the bonnet
and immediately called for emergency assistance.
SCDF firefighters reached the scene shortly after and the fire was
put out within ten minutes.
