6 cheat death as LPG-fed taxi explodes

A taxi driver and his five passengers managed to scamper out of a taxi running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after the vehicle caught fire while cruising MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City Sunday night.

No one was injured in the fire.

Chief Inspector Danilo Bugay, Station Investigation and Detective Management Bureau chief, said a Bombase taxi (TWE-773) driven by Michael John Pascual caught fire due to faulty air-conditioner wiring.

The taxi, with five unnamed passengers bound for Meycauayan, Bulacan, was engulfed in flames minutes after the passengers got out of the vehicle.

Police Officer 3 John Espiritu told The STAR the incident occurred at 9:06 p.m. in front of a Flying V gas station near the Valenzuela city hall.

Pascual attempted to put out the fire with water from a nearby carwash but failed. The vehicle exploded when flames reached the LPG tank .

Senior Fire Officer 2 Melchor Gonzales, on the other hand, said a leak in the LPG tank caused the fire. The driver and passengers, alerted by the smell of the leaking fuel, got out of the vehicle before it exploded.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chief Thompson Lantion said they “will conduct an investigation on the case to determine if the taxi is not a colorum (vehicle) because LPG-fed taxis undergo strict quality control.”

He said only authorized LPG installers accredited by the Department of Trade and Industry may legally convert gasoline-fueled engines into LPG-fed versions.           – With Perseus Echeminada