Truck carrying charcoal catches fire on highway in Maha, driver escapes unhurt; traffic disrupted

Palghar: A charcoal-laden truck caught fire on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway here in Maharashtra on Thursday morning, officials said.

The truck driver jumped out in time and escaped unhurt, they said, adding that vehicular movement on the route was disrupted for a couple of hours.

The vehicle caught fire near the Charoti toll naka in Manor area of Palghar district around 6.15 am when it was on way to Ahmedabad in Gujarat from Mumbai, a fire brigade official said.

After being alerted, local firemen and police rushed to the spot, but the truck was completely gutted by that time, he said.

The vehicle driver jumped out to safety, an official at Manor police station said.

The traffic movement on the busy route was affected for a couple of hours, he said.

The fire was later doused and the vehicle was removed from the spot, he said.

A fire brigade official said they suspect that a short-circuit in the truck led to the blaze, but the exact cause was still not known.