A vehicle caught fire on the road on White Sunday, catching motorists on Savai’i by surprise and is the second in a month to suddenly burst into flames.

A motorist Jade Jackson, who was doing a tour of Savai’i at around 3pm on Sunday and witnessed the incident, told the Samoa Observer that she saw the smoke and realised that it was a burning vehicle.

"I saw the smoke and then two minutes later I recognized that it was a car burning," she said. “Just as we got there we heard the tyres blow up one by one. Police were quick to arrive there and blocked off the road.

"I understand the firemen had to come from Salelologa so they took a bit of time but it was not too long.”

Ms. Jackson and a friend were on a tour of the island when they decided to go to the Le Lagoto Resort for a short break when they witnessed the incident.

Gabriella Tuatagaloa Retzlaff, who runs the shop opposite their family-owned Le Lagoto Resort and Spa, told the Samoa Observer that the vehicle burst into flames in front of the Savai'i Lagoon hotel. 

"It [burning vehicle] is in front of the Savaii Lagoon Resort, " she said. 

Despite the close proximity of the incident to her business, Ms. Retzlaff still kept her shop.

"We are still open at the shop. I just had to take my children home so they do not breathe in all the smoke," she said. "But the firemen were not there ten minutes ago and I hope they get there soon.”

Officers from the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (SFESA) were soon at the sight with the businesswoman heaving a sigh of relief. 

Ms. Jackson claimed that there was a palagi (expat) man telling her not to take photos of the burning vehicle. 

"There is a palagi man at the Savaii Lagoon being difficult and telling me we should not take photos, yet the policeman said it is okay to do so," she said.

"But the owner of the car according to the bar lady at the Le Lagoto is also a family man so thank God his family is okay, as there was nobody harmed.”

It is understood the vehicle which caught fire is an old model of the Toyota Rav4. Last month a vehicle’s engine suddenly caught fire on Upolu, forcing the driver to flee the car with his belongings. The car, which was being driven from Apia to Safata, is a Toyota IST model.