20 hours Ago
Surat: A garment trader was charred to death in his hatchback car after it caught fire on the Sachin-Magdalla road near Abhva village at about 1pm on Friday. The fire occurred when Dipak Patel was near the VIP road on the service road of the highway. Passersby called the fire brigade and the Vesu fire team reached the spot, but the fire was so intense that it engulfed the whole car within seconds, before anyone could save Patel.
Dumas police registered an accidental death case and began an investigation. Dumas police inspector N V Bharwad told TOI: "The incident took place at around 1pm on Friday. It looks like the fire began under the bonnet and spread to the other parts.
It could have occurred due to a short circuit in the wiring. A forensic team was called, which took samples from the car. The exact reason for the fire will be ascertained only after the forensic science laboratory (FSL) report.
" According to police, the car was running on petrol. The central locking system may have locked after the fire. Police and fire teams say the fire was so intense that Patel could not escape.
As the site is on the highway, there were not many people around to mount a rescue. Vesu fire station officer Prakash Patel said, "When we reached the spot, the car was 70% destroyed. We doused the fire but when we reached it, the person inside had already fallen onto the front passenger seat.
" A school van driver was passing Patel's car when it was on fire. The van driver broke the windscreen with a stone to enable the smoke to escape. He also shouted to see if anyone was inside, as he could not see anyone due to the smoke.
Patel lived in Abhva village and is survived by his wife and two children..
