Thane: Woman passenger charred to death as auto-rickshaw catches fire after accident, driver injured

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An unidentified woman passenger was charred to death when an auto-rickshaw in which she was travelling caught fire after hitting a road divider in Maharashtra's Thane city on Wednesday, civic officials said.

The vehicle driver received severe burn injuries in the accident which took place at 5.45 am in Gaimukh area on Ghodbunder Road, they said.

The auto-rickshaw was proceeding from Thane city towards Bhayander when its driver lost control over the wheels.

The vehicle then hit a road divider and caught fire, Thane Municipal Corporation's regional disaster management cell (RDMC) chief Avinash Sawant told PTI.

Also Read: Fire broke out at Mahavitran sub-station in Thane, no casualties reported

A woman passenger was trapped inside the vehicle and charred to death. The driver, identified as Rajesh Kumar (45), suffered severe burn injuries, the official said.

The vehicle was reduced to ashes, he said.

After being alerted, local firemen and the RDMC team rushed to the spot and put out the blaze within half-an-hour, he said.

The driver was rushed to a hospital and was undergoing treatment. The woman's body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem and police were trying to identify the deceased, the official said.

The Kasarwadavali police were carrying out a probe into the incident, he added.

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