20 September,2011 08:05 AM IST | | Kavya Singh
Cops, fire brigade arrive within minutes to put out blaze, say fuel leak likely cause; two nearby vehicles damaged
There was chaos at the headquarters of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) yesterday after a car in the parking lot there caught fire. No one was injured in the blaze, the cause of which was suspected to be leaking fuel gas.
Charred: The Maruti van that caught fire in the PMC parking lot
yesterday afternoon. Pic/Kavya Singh
The vehicle, a Maruti van, caught fire around 4 pm, when the parking lot was deserted. The police and the fire brigade arrived within minutes and confirmed no one was injured. "Fuel gas is suspected to have leaked and a sudden spark led to the fire. We are yet to trace the owner of the van," said Assistant Sub-Inspector Ramchandra Ghadge from the Shivajinagar police station.
Two other vehicles, a car and a motorcycle, were completely damaged in the blaze. The vehicles belonged to PMC employees. Eyewitnesses said they heard a minor blast when the car caught fire. "It was a real shocker for me," said Kiran Gokul Dash, (49), an employee in a private firm. "I heard a blast and ran away from the site immediately. If the police and fire brigade had not come in time, the situation could have gone out of hand."
Priyanka Shah (21), a BCom student, said she saw the fire spread within seconds. "In a few seconds, the entire van was burnt and the blaze had spread to nearby vehicles," she said. "It was a scary sight."
