Six people escaped without injuries when a taxi caught fire as it drove down a Ho Chi Minh City street on Sunday.

Driver Nguyen Huy Dung said he was driving five passengers along Truong Chinh Street in Tan Phu District when he saw smoke and smelled something burning coming from the rear of his vehicle.

He then pulled over and together with the passengers rushed out of the car, which belongs to the Festival Taxi Company.

The fire spread quickly, engulfing the car and burning it completely, despite the efforts of locals to put it out.

Police are investigating the fire further.

In 2010 and 2011, Vietnam recorded 324 vehicle fires and explosions, mainly in cars, of which 209 cases have had their causes identified, according to statistics cited a press conference held by ministries of transport, public security, trade on April 26 of this year.

Last month the Prime Minister Dung ordered concerned agencies to speed up their investigations to determine the causes mysterious vehicles fires as soon as possible.