CHENNAI: A truck driver and his co-driver suffered minor injuries after the vehicle carrying straw caught fire when it came in contact with a live overhead cable near
Gummidipoondi
on Monday evening.
The driver and his helper managed to jump off the vehicle before the driver’s cabin caught fire, fire department officials said.
The truck was carrying straw from Agaram village in Gummidipoondi to
Katpadi
in
Vellore
district. When the truck reached
Vazhuthambedu village
, the straw touched the live cable that triggered a fire. However, the driver and cleaner did not notice this and were driving the vehicle when the fire spread to the entire load of straw.
The villagers who noticed this, drew the attention of the duo to the fire. Even as the driver was driving the vehicle, co-driver P
Dhamu, 26, of Katpadi, managed to climb on to the vehicle and pushed down the straw bundles on the road, to prevent the fire from spreading further. He then jumped off the vehicle.
In the impact, he suffered burns on his leg. The locals alerted the fire and rescue services officials from Gummidipoondi, who rushed to the scene and put out the flames. They battled for nearly an hour to bring the fire under control.
The truck was not completely gutted as the bundles of straw were thrown off the vehicle. Since there were not many vehicles plying on the road at the time of accident, traffic was not affected.
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