Thane, May 31: Eleven persons, including five children, escaped without injuries after the multi-purpose utility vehicle (MUV) they were travelling in caught fire in Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said.

The MUV was going from Mumbai towards Nashik when its driver spotted a fire in the vehicle around 11.45 pm on Thursday. He slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a halt, the official said. All the occupants, five kids and four women, rushed out of the MUV, which soon went up in flames, he said. Thane Road Accident: Labourer Killed, Two Others Injured As Dumper Runs Over Them in Maharashtra.

The vehicle was on the Eastern Expressway opposite the Viviana Mall in the city at the time, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane civic body. Local firemen and civic rescuers reached the spot and put out the fire in half an hour. But the fire destroyed the vehicle, he added.