The intensity of fire was so much that the vehicle was completely gutted by the time fire brigade personnel reached the spot to douse the flames.
Vehicular traffic on the NH was adversely affected as no vehicles could pass through the route. Later, the traffic was diverted on the route while traffic officials also had a tough time in regulating crowd near the spot.
Though it is still unclear what triggered the fire in the vehicle, senior police officials said that the matter will be investigated.
The four injured of Champeswar area of Cuttack were rescued by the fire services personnel. The victims were admitted to the district headquarters hospital for treatment.
Following rescue of passengers, the fire personnel doused the flames of the burning car.
According to reports, a moving car, bearing registration number OD02AC8513, suddenly caught fire at Rasulgarh Square at 6 am today. Rabindranath Rout, owner of the vehicle managed to move out of it unharmed.
After being informed by the locals, fire brigade personnel reached the spot and took control over the situation. However, flames had completely destroyed the car by that time.
Though the exact reason of the mishap still remains unknown, a short circuit is suspected to have caused the fire.
According to initial reports, the fire in the car was caused by an electric short circuit.
Keonjhar: Moving car catches fire on Naranpur-Duburi Road near Ramchandrapur; close shave for 3 passengers #Odisha
— OTV (@otvnews) October 27, 2020
According to the passengers, while they were travelling they noticed smoke coming out from the engine. As they got down from the car to check the source of the smoke, the car was engulfed by fire.
Subsequently, the tyres burst triggering panic in the locality. The incident also disrupted traffic movement on the road.
According to the sources, the driver of the ill-fated car immediately came out of the vehicle after he detected smoke. Soon after, the car caught fire.
https://youtu.be/3xWVvrKdSZo
“While driving, I detected smoke coming out of the engine. I immediately stopped the vehicle and came out of the vehicle following which the car caught fire,” the driver said.
On being informed, fire department officials rushed to the spot and doused the flame.
The incident occurred in the morning hours when Dillip Biswal, a resident of Purushottampur village in Badachana block of Jajpur district was returning with his family from a friend's place in Mahanga. The family had visited Mahanga sometime back. There were a total of five occupants in the car, including the driver and two children.
While the vehicle was travelling near Madhupur village the occupants noticed smoke emanating from the engine. Soon afterwards, Biswal , who was driving the car, stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road and the family quickly came out of it.
https://youtu.be/x7dz2HgyJdo
The place where the incident occurred is a dense forest area and no immediate help could reach in time. However, Biswal's quick thinking saved the family as the car went up in flames in no time after the occupants came out.
Later, the Kuanpal fire brigade reached the place of the mishap and doused the fire before it could spread further. Fire officials suspect that the shot circuit could have caused the fire. In fact, in most of the fire cases involving vehicles of late, random sparks in the engine caused by faulty electrical wiring has been found to be the reason.
The local police also reached the place of accident after receiving the information and started an investigation.