Old bendy buses used by former bus operator Arriva have gone up in flames in a San Ġwann scrapyard, sending massive plumes of black smoke into the air. 

The fire was reported at around noon, with firefighters from the Civil Protection Department dispatched to site close to Aria nightclub.

READ: Bendy buses given boot over fire fears

Times of Malta readers in San Ġwann, Birkirkara, Mrieħel and St Julian's all reported seeing the toxic black smoke in the air. Scroll right from the main video to browse a selection of readers' photos and videos.  

The bendy buses had been in the scrapyard for years, having been withdrawn from service for safety reasons in August 2013 after fire broke out in two of them. They were eventually sold, reportedly for use in an African country, but never left Malta.

READ: Transport Malta sells the bendy buses for €601,200, for use in Sudan

Photo: Jason Zammit

Photo: Jason Zammit

Photo: Maria Fleri Soler

Photo: Maria Fleri Soler

Photo: Matthew Xuereb

Photo: Matthew Xuereb

Photo: Matthew Xuereb

Photo: Matthew Xuereb

Photo: Mario Giuliano

Photo: Mario Giuliano

Video: Chris Sant Fournier

Video: Chris Sant Fournier

An aerial view of the fire. Photo: Leon Xuereb/Buzz Flying Ltd

An aerial view of the fire. Photo: Leon Xuereb/Buzz Flying Ltd

The view from Mrieħel. Photo: Christopher Miceli

The view from Mrieħel. Photo: Christopher Miceli

Video: Warren Brimmer/Aerial Malta

Video: Warren Brimmer/Aerial Malta

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.