Eight-year-old boy dies as car goes up in flames

Hyderabad: A minor boy died of burns while his teenage brother was injured when their car caught fire apparently when they were playing with a matchbox, police said.

The incident occurred at around 9 AM in Gayatri Nagar area when Sriyan Reddy, along with his 16-year-old brother Sujanth Reddy, went inside the car parked near their house to bring out a pen-drive, when fire erupted suddenly, said Meerpet police station inspector J Venkat Reddy. The car belonged to one of their family members.

While the exact cause behind the incident is being investigated, the officer said, it appears that the siblings were either playing with a matchbox or a short-circuit led to the mishap. Sujanth, sitting on front seat, managed to escape and alerted his parents, however the blaze had totally engulfed the car, trapping Sriyan inside, by the time help arrived.

The doors of the car were broken and the younger boy was taken out and rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries this evening while undergoing treatment, the officer added. A case has been registered in this regard.

PTI