Sedan goes up in flames near Kharegaon Toll Naka in Maharashtra, driver escapes moments before blaze engulfs car

Thane: A car driver had a lucky escape after his four-wheeler suddenly caught fire on the busy Retirbunder road near Kharegaon Toll Naka, Sunday at 3 pm, reducing the vehicle to a charred shell within minutes. 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 said. The car was travelling from Ghatkopar towards Dombivli. The driver, identified as V Chaudhary, was alone in the vehicle when he noticed smoke and flames erupting from the bonnet following which he swiftly pulled the vehicle to the roadside and jumped out moments before the fire engulfed the car. The blaze was doused within 30 minutes, officials said. By then, the car had been completely gutted in the fire. Officials said the exact cause of the fire will be investigated, athough preliminary suspicion points towards a technical fault.