SINGAPORE - An SMRT bus stalled along Upper Thomson Road on Monday (Aug 21) afternoon after an overheated engine caused it to emit thick black smoke.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident near Yio Chu Kang Road at around 4.20pm, which involved a service 169 bendy bus.

It sent a pair of fire engines and a fire bike, and found no fire upon arrival. There were also no injuries reported.

Mr Patrick Nathan, SMRT's vice-president for corporate communications, confirmed that an overheated engine was reported on the bus.

"For the safety of our passengers, they were transferred to another bus to continue their journey. The bus was recovered to Ang Mo Kio Depot. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to the affected passengers."

Project manager Arjel Sagad, 30, was on the bus heading to Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange when the engine suddenly got cut off.

"The driver tried to restart it a couple of times. Then suddenly, there was a lot of smoke in the bus. The driver immediately asked us to leave the bus," said Mr Sagad.

In a video he sent to The Straits Times, the bus could be seen parked before the junction of Upper Thomson Road and Yio Chu Kang Road. Its back end extended into the turning lane, but cars could still pass through.

Smoke was being emitted out of the back, where its engine was.

Mr Sagad said that at the time of the incident, there were less than 20 passengers on board and they walked to the nearby bus stop to continue their journey.

"There was a strong burnt smell. Luckily no one got hurt."