Pipili: An electric scooter caught fire near Lakshminarayanpur village under Pipili block of Puri district Friday.
Owner of the vehicle was identified as Bijaya Kumar Jena from Lakshminarayanpur village, a source said. Bijaya’s wife Rinki was riding the ill-fated vehicle. She was on her way back home along with her daughter at around noon when the electric scooter caught fire.
According to an eyewitness, the mother-daughter duo was on Baramana village road when the vehicle caught fire all of a sudden. Rinki noticed thick smoke coming out of the vehicle and abandoned it immediately. She along with her daughter ran away to a safe distance leaving the scooter on the village road.
Also read: Tapaswini-Sumit marital discord: Wife receives notice to vacate guest house
“Alertness of the woman saved two lives. If she had not noticed the smoke in the nick of time, both the mother and the toddler would have sustained injuries in the fire mishap,” the eyewitness added.
On being informed by locals, a team of fire services personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flame. However, the scooter was entirely gutted by the time the fire was brought under control.
PNN