A car catches fire at NLEX Viaduct area near Pulilan, Bulacan on Saturday, December 7. Screengrab from video of Dr. Danny Milla

MANILA — A car caught fire on the Northbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway Viaduct area near Pulilan, Bulacan on Saturday morning.

According to initial reports from Lizel Uy, assistant manager for Traffic Control at NLEX, the driver of the vehicle noticed a burning smell while driving, prompting them to pull over to the side of the road.

While inspecting the rear of the vehicle, the driver saw flames erupt from that part of the car.

No injuries were reported in the incident. However, the fire led to a traffic slowdown, with congestion stretching up to around four kilometers at the height of the incident.

READ: 1 dead, 5 injured in multi-vehicle collision in Parañaque

To manage the situation, authorities opened the zipper lane, which eased the traffic while emergency responders worked to contain the fire.

Two lanes remained passable including the additional two lanes for the zipper lane.

Emergency teams from NLEX and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Pulilan quickly responded to the scene, and the vehicle was towed away by past 10 a.m.

The scene was cleared and traffic flow returned to normal shortly after.

The incident was handed over to the BFP Pulilan for further investigation.