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The Porsche caught fire as it waited at traffic lights in Causeway Bay. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong driver and boy escape unharmed from luxury Porsche as it goes up in flames

Fire Services Department thinks blaze may have been caused by overheating

A man and a boy avoided injury after escaping from a luxury sports car which suddenly burst into flames in Causeway Bay.

The 46-year-old man was driving the red Porsche 928 GTS made in 1993 when smoke billowed out from the front of the vehicle at about 3.30pm, as he waited at traffic lights outside the Park Lane Hotel on Gloucester Road.

The man grabbed the boy, aged about 10, and ran out before calling police.

Shortly after their escape, the bonnet of the vehicle went up in flames and the car was engulfed in fire and intense black smoke visible hundred of metres away. An explosion was heard in videos taken by pedestrians.

Firemen rushed to the scene and doused the flames within minutes. The front of the car was badly damaged. No one was injured.

In a video circulated online, a police officer was seen trying to stop traffic from approaching the car. Security personnel from a nearby building also directed traffic.

The car was reportedly one of 15 928 GTS models brought into the city in the 1990s. The car that went up in flames was bought in 2014 for HK$270,000.

The Fire Services Department said the cause of the fire was not suspicious and believed it was caused by overheating.

Traffic in nearby areas came to a standstill for some time before the scene was cleared.

On January 29, a man had a narrow escape from a similar accident after his car burst into flames following a crash in Tseung Kwan O.

The 36-year-old driver lost control of his Toyota and ran into the curb on Chiu Shun Road near La Cite Noble.

Flames spread to some nearby anti-noise barriers. Firemen put out the blaze in about 10 minutes. No one was hurt.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Driver, boy escape injury as Porsche bursts into flames
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