PASSENGERS WERE EVACUATED from a bus after it caught fire on the M1 motorway in north County Dublin in the early hours of the morning.

Gardaí and fire services were alerted to the scene on the southbound carriageway of the M1 between Junction 5 Balbriggan and Junction 4 Donabate shortly after 1.50am.

No injuries were reported and all passengers were safely evacuated.

The fire was extinguished and the bus has been removed from the scene for technical and forensic examination.

Evin Hughes, who was a passenger on the bus, told The Journal that the bus had been organised to drive Shelbourne fans home from the club’s match in Derry, which saw them become League of Ireland champions. 

He said an alarm went off on the bus’s dashboard and after the passengers began to smell smoke, they evacuated the bus.

“We were all off and standing about ten to fifteen metres up the road on the grass verge for about three or four minutes, at which point there was a loud pop noise,” Hughes, who is a volunteer with the football club, said.

“Then the flames really started. The whole thing was up in flames within probably 10 minutes.”

He said another bus carrying Shelbourne fans was travelling behind them on the motorway. It pulled in after seeing the flames, and the passengers were able to travel to the city centre on the second bus, he said. 

A garda spokesperson said that investigations into the matter are ongoing.