Traffic snarl as car goes up in flames

CHENNAI: The movement of traffic was affected on arterial GST Road, when a car burst into flames on Thursday evening. Police sources said the Maruti Swift car was proceeding towards Guindy, when the vehicle started emitting smoke and flames near the Intellectual Property Office building on the GST Road here. A police team, led by Inspector Mohamad Nasar, arrived at the spot, as vehicular traffic began to pile up in the area, which was already congested due to the ongoing Metro Rail Project. “We removed the vehicle to the side of the road and cleared the traffic,” the inspector said.The fire control room received a call from one Siva at 6.29 pm and two fire engines and a water lorry from Guindy and Ashok Nagar, led by fire officer K Selvaraj, rushed to the spot. The fire officer said it was a medium category fire caused by electrical short-circuit and the car’s engine, seat and tyre tubes were damaged in the flames. Sources said traffic was affected for about an hour on 100 Feet Road and Anna Salai because of the incident.