In a dramatic incident on Sunday afternoon, a car driver had a miraculous escape after his vehicle suddenly caught fire on the busy Retirbunder Road near Kharegaon Toll Naka in Thane. The fire, which broke out around 3 pm, reduced the four-wheeler to a charred shell within minutes, officials said.
The car was traveling from Ghatkopar towards Dombivli when the driver, identified as V Chaudhary, noticed smoke and flames erupting from the bonnet. Acting swiftly, he pulled the vehicle to the roadside and jumped out moments before the fire engulfed the entire car. He was alone in the vehicle and escaped unhurt.
The blaze was doused within 30 minutes by fire officials, but by then the car had been completely gutted. Traffic movement on the stretch connecting the new Mumbai-Nashik highway and the old Mumbai-Pune highway was briefly affected during the firefighting operation before normalcy was restored.
Officials stated that the exact cause of the fire will be investigated, although preliminary suspicion points towards a technical fault. No other vehicles or persons were harmed in the incident.
