Car catches fire inside Mumbai Coastal Road tunnel, brings traffic to standstill

A car caught fire inside India’s first undersea road tunnel on Wednesday afternoon, bringing traffic to a standstill for over an hour. The car burst into flames around 12.25 PM, prompting motorists to panic and abandon their cars. The stretch along the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) tunnel was reopened around 1.30 PM after the burnt car was removed.

Firefighters, police, and traffic personnel rushed to the spot after being alerted about the blaze. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyanarayan Chaudhary said the tunnel stretch from Breach Candy towards Nariman Point was closed immediately after the incident. “The coastal road tunnel from Breach Candy to Nariman Point was closed after a car caught fire. As per the preliminary information, no one was injured in the incident,” he said.

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

— Shaunak Modi (@Pugdandee) July 15, 2026

According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the fire was extinguished within 20 minutes but it took about an hour to open the lane for traffic movement. “The burnt vehicle at Coastal Road South-bound CP-5 has been extinguished with the assistance of the Fire Brigade and removed from the tunnel using a crane. Traffic movement on both the South-bound and North-bound lanes has resumed, and we are currently streamlining the traffic flow,” a statement issued by Tardeo Traffic Division, South Mumbai, read.

However, even after opening the tunnel, traffic was moving at snail’s pace.

Traffic crawls along the Mumbai Coastal Road after the reopening of the MCRP tunnel.

Videos from the spot showed people exiting their vehicles and running away from the fire. While the south-bound lane, on which the fire was reported was closed.

The incident led to massive chaos on the stretch.

A commuter, Viren Shah, who was trapped in the tunnel said, “I was heading to my shop from the tunnel from Worli towards Marine Drive, when I saw the flames coming towards our car. The fire was less than 100 feet away from my car… we couldn’t figure out where to exit from. People abandoned their cars and ran towards the Worli exit. Even I left my car and started running. I could barely manage to run as several cars were also reversing their way towards the exit.”

He said there was a lack of signages and proper emergency exits inside the tunnel.

Smoke from the Mumbai tunnel fire (Nayonika Bose)

Another commuter who was at the spot when the incident unfolded posted videos of the chaos on X. “I have never experienced anything like it. We had entered the Coastal Road tunnel from the Worli side and within a couple of minutes saw hundreds of people running towards us. I asked one person what had happened, and he simply said, ‘Aage aag lagi hai’ [There’s a fire ahead]. I’m not sure what exactly was on fire or if there even was one by the time we got there, but many people abandoned their cars inside the tunnel and ran out. The stranded vehicles ended up blocking the exit for everyone behind them, creating complete chaos.”

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The incident caused major traffic disruption, with emergency responders rushing to the spot and motorists being evacuated from the tunnel.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Satyanarayan Chaudhary said, “The coastal road tunnel from Breach Candy to Nariman Point was closed as the car catches fire. As per the preliminary information no one was injured in the incident.” He said that traffic movement inside the tunnel was normal by 1:30 PM.

The gutted remains of the car being towed out of the tunnel

Safety features inside India’s first undersea road tunnel

The Mumbai Coastal Road (or Dharamveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Mumbai Coastal Road) is an 8-lane grade-separated expressway connects Marine Lines in South Mumbai to Kandivali in the north.

The Mumbai Coastal Road’s twin tunnels are 2.07 km long each, with nearly 1 km running beneath the Arabian Sea and the remaining stretch passing under Malabar Hill, making them India’s first undersea road tunnels. The tunnels form part of the 10.58-km Marine Drive-Worli Coastal Road and connect the Priyadarshini Park area near Breach Candy to Marine Drive, emerging near the Haji Ali interchange as part of the operational corridor.

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They were built with advanced safety features including Saccardo ventilation systems for smoke extraction, fire-fighting systems, pressurised fire mains, emergency refuge areas, and cross passages connecting the twin tunnels to facilitate evacuation during emergencies.

For fire safety, the tunnels are equipped with an automatic fire detection system, along with portable fire extinguishers, pressurised fire hydrants, and adequate ventilation system for smoke control.

India’s first Saccardo ventilation system

While most tunnels deploy jet fans for ventilation, the MCRP tunnel has been equipped with the Saccardo Ventilation system, which pushes in fresh air throughout the tunnel and dissipates smoke and dust.

Besides aiding the ventilation, the Saccardo system is also instrumental during a fire. In case of a fire, the system generates high pressure, pushing out the smoke. After that, fire hydrants can be used to douse the fire.