A group of mostly young Australian and New Zealand travellers are safe after a bus taking them to the Anzac Cove Dawn Service at Gallipoli burst into flames.
The 45 passengers were about four hours into the five-hour journey from Izmir in Turkey when smoke started belching from the engine at the back of the bus and they were told to get off.
The bus heading for the Anzac service Source: Reuters
One of the passengers was from Italy, Fairfax Media reports.
The driver sought to put out the fire, but it was quickly engulfed, witnesses said.
Passengers from another bus in the group grabbed water bottles and a tour guide found a fire extinguisher, but they could not douse the fire.
The bus and passengers' belongings were destroyed, but it is understood no one was hurt.
New Zealander Laura Smith wrote on her Facebook page she was "pretty shaken after a close call".
Charred suitcases under the bus Source: Reuters
"We may have lost all our belongings but by some miracle everyone made it out ok. Don't take life for granted," she wrote.
Many of the passengers lost passports and money.
Another passenger Amelia Wade told the New Zealand Herald the fire was "dramatic".
"The flames were huge with random small explosions."
The Australian organisers of the dawn service, Definitive Events, transferred the group to a hotel nearby where they received clothes and blankets before boarding another bus to get to the service on time.
