SINGAPORE - A car caught fire in a Tiong Bahru carpark on Thursday (March 16), just minutes after the driver alighted.

Ms Ariel Ong, 42, who was picking up her two children from their tuition class, parked at Block 18A, Jalan Membina.

Just after she got out of the car, the engine started emitting smoke, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

She called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for help immediately.

Within minutes, she heard a bang and the engine burst into flames.

Firefighters put out the fire using two hose reel jets and one compressed air foam, SCDF said.

The car parked next to Ms Ong's Mini Cooper suffered some heat damage.

Ms Ong told Wanbao that the car was only 4½ years old.