04 November,2013 10:13 AM IST | | Vinay Dalvi
A joyous Diwali for one is the cause of grief for another. In yet another incident highlighting the menace of firecrackers, eight motorcycles were destroyed, thanks to a stray sparkler. The incident occurred on Saturday night at 9 pm, at Dhuri Towers on 90 Feet Road in Dharavi.
A resident empties the leaking fuel tank from his motorcycle when a sparkler falls near it
A group of people were bursting firecrackers, when a sparkler came flying towards the motorcycles parked under the building. As seen on the CCTV footage, almost immediately, the vehicle caught fire. Subsequently, the fire spread to the seven other motorcycles parked adjacent to it.
The bike catches fire and the owner just manages to escape
The police were immediately informed and residents tried to put out the fire with sand and fire extinguishers. Mahesh Kumar, a grocery shop owner who lost his Splendor in the mishap, said, "One of the vehicles was leaking petrol, and the owner was already removing fuel from it, as he was afraid of it catching fire. At the same time, the cracker fell on the bike and it caught fire."
A huge fire rages and quickly spreads to the other parked two-wheelers
"Around 10 pm, I heard people shouting while I was having dinner. Immediately I went down and saw that my bike was on fire," said Kennedy Udayar, a building resident, who is an LIC agent.
Seven motorcycles were severely damaged in the incident, while one had minor damages.u00a0Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
"We reached the spot soon, by which time, residents had managed to douse the fire with the help of sand, water, mud and fire extinguishers. Some people had warned the children to shift to another place far away from the vehicles and light their crackers, but they didn't listen," said a police officer from the Dharavi police station.
Seven motorcycles were severely damaged, while one had minor damages. "The CCTV footage shows that an electric sparkler-like firework fell on one of the bikes from the terrace, causing the fire," said the police officer from Dharavi police station who registered a diary entry of the incident. According to the police, several warnings and safety measures had been issued to residents about lighting fireworks away from vehicles. But the children didn't pay heed to them. "Three bikes were new, and we are checking if we can claim damages from the insurance company for them," added Kumar.
