Watch : Luxury bus catches fire on Southern Expressway

A luxury passenger bus travelling from Colombo to Galle caught fire on the Southern Expressway near the 64-kilometre post between the Welipenna and Kurundugahahetekma interchanges, a short while ago, police said.

The incident has caused heavy traffic along the expressway stretch towards Galle.

Police stated that the fire is believed to have been caused by a sudden mechanical failure.

The bus, which was operating on the Galle–Colombo route, had around 20 passengers onboard at the time of the incident.

Firefighters have been deployed to control the blaze.