Pregnant woman, husband die after vehicle catches fire

A pregnant woman and her husband were charred to death after their vehicle caught fire in north Kerala’s Kannur district on Thursday, police said.

Three other occupants of the vehicle, who were sitting at the rear, managed to escape following the intervention of local residents. Preliminary probe suggests a short circuit may have caused the fire, police said.

According to eyewitnesses, the couple – Reesha (26) and Prajith (32) could not escape as their seat belts got entangled. They added that Prajith immediately stopped the vehicle as soon as smoke began emanating from it and asked his relatives to get out quickly.

“We tried our best to save them but the entire vehicle caught fire in no time and we were also scared that the petrol tank would burst,” an eyewitness said.

Relatives of the deceased said the latter were on their way to Kannur district hospital after Reesha complained of uneasiness, when the incident took place.

A team of officials from the motor vehicles department and forensic department later visited the spot to inspect the vehicle.