A truck driver suffered minor injuries after the vehicle carrying straw caught fire coming into contact with a live overhead cable in Paradarami village near Gudiyatham town in Vellore on Friday (April 24, 2026).
Police said that the driver V. Ganesh, 38, a native of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, managed to jump off the vehicle before the driver’s cabin caught fire. The truck was carrying straw from Vellore to Chittoor. When the truck reached a government school in the village, the straw touched the low-lying live cable that triggered a spark. However, the driver did not notice this and the fire spread to the entire load of straw.
The villagers who noticed this drew the attention of the driver to the fire. Immediately, the driver stopped and jumped off the vehicle. In the impact, he suffered minor injuries. The locals alerted the fire and rescue services officials from Gudiyatham, who rushed to the scene and put out the flames. They battled for nearly an hour to bring the fire under control.
The truck was not completely gutted as the bundles of straw were thrown off the vehicle. Since there were not many vehicles plying on the road at the time of the accident, traffic was not affected. A case was registered by Paradarami police. A probe is under way.
