Car catches fire in Coastal Rd tunnel, traffic goes crazy

Panic gripped commuters on Thursday morning when a Maruti Swift Dzire taxi caught fire inside the southbound tunnel of the newly inaugurated Mumbai Coastal Road around 9am.

- Poonam Apraj and Devashri Bhujbal

Thick smoke engulfed the tunnel, forcing motorists to halt midway. Fire brigade teams doused the flames by 9.36am, but the car was completely gutted. No injuries were reported, and traffic resumed around 10.30am. The taxi driver, Pramod Rajkumar Dwivedi, 49, of Maitri Tours & Travels, was behind the wheel. The vehicle owner, Raju Mahadev Gaikwad, has been identified. The burnt car was towed to Malabar Hill Police Station for investigation.