JHARSUGUDA:�A family, including an elderly couple, had a narrow escape when their car caught fire near Shahpara, Badmal in Rourkela Sambalpur State Highway road on Saturday afternoon.
The incident took place at 2.00 pm when the car owner Salil Kumar Patel (42) was driving his Tata Zest Car (OD 23E 5005) to Sambalpur to meet a Neurology Doctor at Sparsh hospital. Salil’s mother, Krishna Priya Patel, brother Sushil Patel and his father Jitendra Patel (70) were also in the car. A family member, who termed it as a “miraculous escape”, said that when they saw smoke coming out of the vehicle’s bonnet. “I got down to check. There was a lot of smoke coming out. I immediately stopped my car near the road at Badmal and had evacuated the car immediately. Then we all rushed out of the vehicle. We could see flames coming out and soon the whole car was gutted. Later, there was a small blast as all the windows shattered because of heat,” he said.
“When I saw the car caught fire, I immediately went to nearby Petrol pump and had brought a fire extinguisher but the fire which was caught was so intense that even fire extinguisher didn’t�work, then we informed fire tender,” said Vikash Sharma, a resident of mangal bazaar who was going to shahpada
The Badmal police and fire services were immediately called. “Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot including the Vedanta’s Fire Service and the blaze was put off within few minutes,” said Badmal Police official.
