Kolkata: At least three cars caught fire outside a garage on Madan Street in central Kolkata around noon on Thursday. A motor mechanic (28), the son of the garage owner, received burn injuries on his hands and hair and is presently admitted at a hospital. He has been declared to be out of danger. Three fire tenders had to be rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control in around 50 minutes.
According to Mohd Eklaq, the garage owner, a car had arrived at the garage for repairs on Thursday morning. “The driver said the ignition was getting switched off often and asked us to solve the issue. My son, Abdul Rahim, decided to check himself. Around 11.45am he tried to remove the rear seat to check something when the flame suddenly flared up and he burnt his hand and hair,” said Eklaq.
Eklaq said they tried to save the other cars behind the car that caught fire. “The driver of the second car had engaged the hand brake and had gone to an office nearby. We tried to contact the driver as well as the people managing the local parking lot. He did not pick up the calls and by the time he returned, the car was already on fire. The third car had a damaged lock,” he added.
Fire department officials said they are ascertaining the exact cause of the fire.