Thane: Auto-rickshaw catches fire at Ghodbunder road; woman passenger onboard charred to death

Thane: An unidentified woman travelling in an auto-rickshaw was charred to death after the vehicle caught fire. The heart-wrenching incident took place on Wednesday after the commute hit a road divider in Gaimukh at Ghodbunder road in Thane city.

It was noted that the auto-rickshaw was proceeding in the direction of Bhayandar when the mishap occurred. Avinash Sawant, regional disaster management cell (RDMC) chief, Thane said, " The auto-rickshaw which 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." The driver was identified as 45-year-old Rajesh Kumar Yadav.

Sawant's team acted immediately on the case after they were alerted of it by the Kasarwadawli police in Thane. The disaster management cell was sent to douse off the fire caught in an auto-rickshaw.

The official informed that the fire brigade reached the spot with one fire engine and brought down the fire at around 6:30 am.

"Yadav received severe burn injuries and was been taken to the nearby private hospital by Kasarwadawli police officials. An unidentified woman passenger was trapped inside the vehicle and charred to death,' Sawant said while noting that the vehicle was reduced to ashes.

Sawant further brought to notice that the woman's body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem. He pointed out that the police were carrying out a probe into the incident and trying to identify the deceased.