Short-circuit: Van erupts in flames after driver switches from CNG to petrol

Driver unhurt; there were no passengers at the time of the incident.

ISLAMABAD:

A passenger van on Wednesday caught fire when the driver, who escaped unscathed, switched the vehicle’s fuel connection from CNG to petrol, according to the police.

As the route 122 van approached Khayaban-e-Suhrawardy near Aabpara Market, a fire broke out in the vehicle’s front seat. According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the dual-fuel vehicle switched from CNG to petrol, resulting in a short-circuit and the subsequent fire.

“I was washing my car and suddenly saw a fire erupt in the van. I saw the driver rush towards a nearby nullah to fetch water but it was too late,’’ said eyewitness Muhammad Aftab. The driver had dropped off its only two passengers before the fire erupted, he added.



Muhammad Abbas, a resident of Sector G-6/4 told The Express Tribune that a team from the Capital Development Authority’s Fire and Rescue Department reached the scene half an hour after the incident and doused the fire, by which time the van had been gutted.

Traffic Deputy Superintendent of Police Chaudhry Muhammad Arshad, who was on duty when the incident happened, confirmed that the fire was caused by a short-circuit.

He claimed that one CNG cylinder was fitted in the vehicle, in accordance with the recent Supreme Court order.

He added that Islamabad Police could still take action against the driver.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2013.