Six people suffered burns when a man inadvertently threw a matchstick onto spilled petrol after lighting a beedi in Maharashtra's Nashik city on Wednesday, officials said.
Some of the injured persons have been admitted to the District Civil Hospital, while the others are receiving care at a private medical facility, they said.
The accident occurred in the Satpur area of the city around noon. According to a police official, a few workers had been engaged to cut a tree near the Mutton Market in Mahadevwadi. The labourers had brought petrol in a can to operate a tree-cutting machine, he said.
However, an unidentified car hit the container, spilling the highly flammable fuel. Just then, an elderly man sitting nearby lit a beedi and absentmindedly tossed the matchstick, the official said.
The ignited matchstick triggered a ball of fire, injuring six people. After being alerted, the fire brigade rushed to the spot and doused the fire, the official said. A case has been registered at the Satpur police station and a probe is underway, he said.
