New Maruti Suzuki Baleno Goes Up In Flames

A two-month-old Maruti Suzuki Baleno hatchback went up in flames while on the move in a northern suburb of the city of Cochin in Kerala.

The owner of the Baleno, businessman Noushad A, was on his way to drop his son off at school when the incident occurred at around 8:04 a.m. Thankfully, both Noushad and his son escaped the car before it flared up.

Noushad had a biker to thank for saving both his and his son's life. The biker, who was riding alongside the Baleno, noticed smoke emanating from the front section of the Baleno and immediately notified Noushad. The businessman immediately stopped his car on the side of the road, and got out along with his son.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle about the incident, Noushad said, "I was taking my son Amal to his school at Edapally. We had hardly travelled four kms when the smoke was detected. As soon as we got out of the car after halting it on one side of Container road, it caught fire. The car was a new one and we were travelling with the AC on."

Unfortunately for Noushad's car, a traffic jam on the road prevented firefighters from reaching the car on time and the blaze was only doused by 8:30 a.m by the Fire Force unit from Eroor.

Fire Force officials said, "The traffic jam prevented the Fire Force from quickly reaching the spot. A preliminary probe points towards a short-circuit problem as the cause of the fire."