Last week, a Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel caught fire while being driven. Unfortunately, the driver couldn’t halt the car and get out in time, ultimately succumbing to the fire. The incident took place at about 6:45 AM, on the Navsari – Surat highway in Gujarat.
The deceased is believed to be Navasari based Dr Jitedra Parmar. The 32-year old was driving along the highway when the 6-month old car suddenly set itself ablaze. Within minutes and still in motion, the fire engulfed the entire car, leaving its occupant charred to death.
One brave onlooker even tried to help, but only came away with charred hands himself. By the time the fire fighters arrived, it was too late. It took the firemen close to 15 minutes to douse the inferno. Though the exact cause of the fire isn’t known yet, a short circuit is being suspected.
Related – Maruti Suzuki Celerio Diesel ZDi Review: Pence and Cents
Priced from from INR 4.65 lakh to INR 5.71 lakh, the Celerio diesel employs Maruti’s home brewed, 793 cc, twin cylinder diesel engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Gas mileage is a claimed 27.62 km/l, making it one of the most fuel efficient diesel cars on sale in India today.
This is also the first reported incident of the Celerio catching fire. Only today, Maruti Suzuki announced that it’ll now be optionally equipping all variants of the Celerio with dual front airbags and ABS. Stay tuned for more details on how the Celerio caught fire as and when they come by. Watch the video below, courtesy Tv9 Gujarati, which records the unforeseen incident (graphic content; viewer discretion is advised):
News Source: Divya Bhaskar
