West Medinipur, 17 April (H.S.): A moving lorry caught fire on National Highway 16 in the Debra area of West Medinipur district on Friday morning, causing panic and disrupting traffic for some time. The incident occurred near the Dwarikapur locality.

According to eyewitnesses, the lorry was travelling along the Haldia–Medinipur stretch when smoke was suddenly seen coming out of the vehicle. Within moments, the fire spread rapidly and engulfed the entire lorry.

The incident led to chaos in the area, with vehicular movement affected for a brief period. Upon receiving information, a fire tender reached the spot and managed to bring the blaze under control after considerable effort.

Preliminary reports suggest that the fire may have been caused due to a mechanical fault in the engine. However, police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the incident.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey