Driver dies in rickshaw fire

A motorcycle rickshaw driver was killed after the vehicle caught fire on Anasi Road on Saturday.

After the fire broke out, a tractor-trolley hit a pole on the roadside and overturned while its driver tried to avoid hitting the rickshaw.

Police said 40-year-old Asif, a resident of Sultan Chowk, Jhang Road near Chhoti Anasi Cemetery in Gulberg area, was driving his rickshaw when it caught fire. The driver suffered severe burn injuries and died on the spot.

Meanwhile, the driver of a passing tractor-trolley tried to save the rickshaw but lost control over his vehicle that collided with a pole and overturned near a graveyard.

The driver of the tractor-trolley escaped unhurt in the accident.

A Rescue 1122 team reached the spot, doused the fire and handed over the body to the police.

Jhang Bazaar and Gulburg police teams were investigating the accident.

The police later handed over the body to the family of the deceased. A large number of local people gathered at the spot after the accident.

On November 11, at least four people were severely burnt in a rickshaw gas cylinder explosion caused by a cigarette in Sammundri.

On October 7, a rickshaw driver and a shopkeeper suffered severe burn injuries when a cylinder exploded and fire broke out during refilling of gas on Sargodha Road, Faisalabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2020.