A part of the Kallang-Paya Le- bar Expressway (KPE) was closed temporarily last night after a car caught fire in the tunnel.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident at the expressway towards the Tampines Expressway (TPE), before the Tampines Road exit, at about 9.10pm. The fire involved the engine compartment of the car. Fire engines arrived at the site within seven minutes, and the fire was extinguished. No injuries were reported.

The Straits Times understands that the tunnel was reopened to motorists slightly before 11pm.

Some motorists who were in the tunnel during the incident noted that the closure resulted in a slight jam.

IT manager Joshua Tan, 35, was stuck in the tunnel for about an hour. "There was a jam as many vehicles were trying to get out of the tunnel," he said.

Ms Heng Xin Yi, 25, was travelling with her family from Kallang back to their Tampines home when the incident happened.

The bank associate heard an announcement broadcast on the radio informing drivers in the tunnel to make an exit.

"It did cause a bit of panic because we didn't know what was going on," she said.

"When we were in there, we were definitely afraid and could only wait in line to get out."