A 32-year-old man escaped unhurt after the car he was travelling in caught fire, on the bridge near the Collector’s office in Vellore, on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, on Thursday.
The police said M. Mathayan, a resident of Alamelumangapuram that falls under the Vellore Corporation limits, was travelling alone in the car. He had left from his house to buy groceries at a supermarket at Katpadi, around six km from his house. While driving on the bridge of the highway, he noticed smoke coming out of the bonnet of the vehicle.
The man immediately stopped the vehicle and came out of it. By that time, flames had spread across the entire vehicle. The incident took place around 9.45 a.m.
Vellore North police and firefighters rushed to the spot and doused the fire. A case has been filed by Vellore North police. An initial inquiry revealed that Mathayan has bought the second-hand diesel car recently from a mechanic in the area, for ₹70,000. Police suspect that an electrical short circuit could be the cause of the fire. Further investigations are on.
Due to the accident, traffic on the route was hit for nearly an hour and vehicles had to move at a slow pace. A small team of traffic police personnel was deployed to regulate traffic on the route.
