Car catches fire beside Bruges Expresweg

UPDATED 17 AUGUST 2026 — A car caught fire beside the Expresweg in Bruges, HLN reported on 17 August. The report establishes the location and nature of the incident, but the precise time, the people involved and the current condition of the vehicle have not been independently confirmed.

No verified information was available at publication time on injuries, evacuations or damage beyond the car itself. It is also unclear whether the fire affected traffic on the Expresweg, occurred on an adjoining road or started while the vehicle was moving. Police Bruges, the City of Bruges and the Flemish roads agency had not published an incident-specific statement found during Belgium Pulse’s checks.

The Expresweg is the local name for the N31. The Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic says the route runs from the E403 interchange at Bruges to the N34 coastal road in Zeebrugge. The agency describes it as an important access road for northern Bruges, nearby communities and the port. Any closure on or immediately beside the route therefore has the potential to affect local and port-bound traffic, although no such disruption has been confirmed in this case.

For people near the scene, the immediate priority is to keep away from the vehicle and leave access clear for emergency crews. The City of Bruges lists 112 as the number for urgent fire-service and ambulance assistance and 101 for urgent police help. Those official numbers are general safety information, not evidence about the response to this particular incident.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. There is no verified basis at this stage to describe it as mechanical, electrical, accidental or deliberate. The type of vehicle and its power source have also not been confirmed, so conclusions about battery or fuel involvement would be premature.

Further reporting should establish whether anyone was inside the car, whether emergency services extinguished the blaze, which road or access lane was affected and whether the vehicle has been removed. Until police or fire-service information becomes available, the incident remains supported by one news report and should be treated as an evolving local story.