Expressway crash: Car overturned, caught fire

An unidentified person was charred to death in an accident on the Mumbai-Pune expressway after his Santro caught fire on Monday.

An unidentified person was charred to death in an accident on the Mumbai-Pune expressway after his Santro caught fire on Monday.

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The police said the accident occurred near Kon village, around 32km from Mumbai.

The incident occurred around 2.30pm and the car and the driver were charred beyond recognition, they added.

Vijay Patil, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) said, “The car was travelling from Mumbai. It hit the divider on the expressway, overturned because of the impact and ended up on the wrong side of the road. After this, the car burst into flames.”

“A short circuit in the car seems to have caused the fire,” Patil added.

On the identity of the victim, Patil said, “The car’s number plate has been shattered, hence we have been unable to get the complete registration number. However, we can make out that the vehicle was registered in Thane. We are looking for other clues to confirm the victim’s identity,” Patil added.

Dnyaneshwar Bade, an eyewitness, who was heading towards Panvel said, “The car’s tyre burst. This caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle and the car ended up on the wrong side of the road. The driver was trapped inside the car and before anyone could help him, the car burst into flames.”

Bade informed Panvel council officials about the incident.

SS Shinde, assistant fire officer of Kalamboli fire station said, “We received a call about the incident at 3.15pm and immediately rushed to the accident spot to put out the fire.”

“The vehicle belongs to an insurance company,” Shinde added.