Pune: An 18-year-old cleaner of a trailer truck was charred to death after the heavy vehicle crashed into a median on the Pune-Mumbai highway in the Kamshet Ghat section and caught fire around 6.30am on Wednesday. The driver of the truck, however, escaped with minor injuries.
The trailer was loaded with iron sheet rolls and heading towards Sanaswadi near Shirur from Kalamboli in Raigad district. Two men on a bike sustained injuries after the truck hit their motorcycle before catching fire. The Kamshet police have identified the deceased as Abhishek Kamble of Majalgaon in Beed district.
The driver, Vilas Rairao (27) of Parbhani, and motorcyclists Pravin Bangar (25) and Akash Katke (24), both from Maval, suffered injuries in the accident. Investigating officer Amol Taware of the Kamshet police said investigations revealed that the truck driver lost control of the wheel and crashed into a median. The truck overturned and skidded for a few metres.
"Due to the friction, the cabin of the truck caught fire," Taware said. He said when the police reached the spot they found that the driver was inside the cabin. With the help of locals, the police team pulled the driver out.
"He told us that his brother-in-law, who works with him as a cleaner, was stuck inside the cabin. Before we could reach him, the fire flared up and the entire cabin was gutted," Taware said. The officer said the fire brigade was called and doused the flames.
"It was only after extinguishing the fire that we could r.