Car catches fire on Gurgaon expressway, occupants escape unhurt

A Tata Indigo caught fire on the Delhi- Gurgaon Expressway on Sunday night. The incident happened around 11:20 pm near Star Mall, Sector 30. Before the fire spread and flames engulfed the car, its occupants managed to escape unhurt, police said.

The car is registered in the name of Suresh Kumar. Vijay Pal, 30, an acquaintance of Suresh and a resident of DLF City Phase 2, was driving the car to drop off a friend at Sector 10 when he noticed flames from the bonnet. He immediately pulled over, got off the car and sent word to the fire brigade and police control room. His friend, too, escaped unhurt.

“We were driving on the expressway when I noticed smoke and flames coming out of the bonnet. I immediately pulled over on the left side of the highway. We opened the bonnet and saw flames coming out of the engine. I was scared and didn’t know what to do. I was lucky to have spotted the flames early or else we would have been charred to death,” Pal said.

The car was gutted within 20 minutes, he said.

“As I stood there helplessly, some commuters gathered to make videos and click pictures of the car caught in flames,” Pal said.

“We sent a fire engine to the spot after getting word on the incident. The fire was doused within 15 minutes. The occupants escaped unhurt,” a fire officer in Sector 20 said.

The traffic on the expressway crawled for about 30 minutes after the incident. However, no major snarls were reported as police teams reached the spot and got the traffic on the move again.

In another incident at Sector 29, a mini truck caught fire. However, no one was injured.

Police have started an inquiry to know what caused the car to catch fire on the expressway. They suspect a short circuit triggered it.