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2 autos catch fire at Mumbai petrol pump

Two auto rickshaws caught fire in a freak accident at a petrol pump in Mumbai's Bandra (West) area on Friday.

According to firemen present at the spot, one of the rickshaws (MH02 DA 1365) was refuelling when an overloaded CNG pump burst into flames.

The rickshaw driver, whose name couldn't be ascertained, suffered burns as did Rahul Pandey, the man refuelling the rickshaw.

Another rickshaw (MH02 UA 710) that had just finished refuelling and was moving out of the petrol pump also got caught in the blaze. Santosh Kumar Singh, who was driving the second rickshaw, suffered minor burns but was seen helping people extinguish the fire. His uncle, Rajesh Kumar Singh, who owned the rickshaw, said it was insured.

According to Deepak Shinde, an eyewitness, the petrol pump was ill equipped to deal with the calamity.

We were also told that the distress call to the fire brigade had not gone out from the fuel station officials.

The incident has resulted in an almost kilometer-long traffic jam on both sides of the SV/LJ Road.