Jamshedpur, May 4: In a freak accident, a car driver was charred to death on Sunday when a cooking gas cylinder lying on the co-driver’s seat exploded, reducing the vehicle into a ball of fire in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur, the police said.

Sunil Agarwal, a resident of Brijiya Heritage, died while sitting on the driver’s seat in the incident that took place around 5.30 a.m. at Marine Drive in Kadma police station area, an official said.

After the incident, a huge crowd of people gathered at the spot and informed the fire brigade and police.

Public attempts to rescue the victim failed due to the high intensity of the fire. “The fire could only be doused after the arrival of firefighters,” said the police.

The in-charge of the Kadma police station and DSP reached the spot. The body was burned so badly that it was impossible to identify it immediately. A damaged gas cylinder was also found on the front seat of the car.

The police used the car’s registration number to reach this house and identify him.

As part of the investigation, a forensic team reached the spot and started looking for clues to find out the cause of the explosion, the police said.

A police official said the initial probe suggests it was an accident, hinting that there may not be any foul play.

In a separate road mishap on Sunday, a man from Haryana was killed and his co-passengers were injured early on Sunday when an unknown vehicle hit their car while they were on their way to Uttarkhand’s Haridwar for taking a holy dip in the Ganga, the police said.

Hemant Singh, son of Babulal, was killed while Lokesh, son of Bhagwan, Rahul, son of Subhash, and another person were injured.

The incident took place near a petrol pump in Narsan when the speeding unknown vehicle hit their car from the rear, police said.

After the accident, passersby informed the police, who rushed the injured to Civil Hospital Roorkee in an ambulance. Hemant, however, died on the way to the hospital.

--IANS

Argus News | argus news | Odisha Latest News, Breaking News, Trending News, Live TV