A fire broke out in a car parked in the basement of an apartment building in Marine Drive, Kochi, on Sunday afternoon. Fire and Rescue officials rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control.

The fire broke out in a Benz car parked in the basement of Samudra Darshan Apartments around 4 pm. According to officials, the car owner noticed smoke emerging from the vehicle shortly after parking it.

“He found that the smoke was coming from behind the car soon after it was parked. But he had to rush out as the smoke began to fill the basement,” an official from the Club Road fire station told Onmanorama.

Although the blaze was contained, thick smoke quickly filled the basement, hindering firefighting operations. "Since it was the basement, the smoke quickly filled in as there was no ventilation," the official said.

Four units from the Gandhinagar and Club Road fire stations arrived at the spot and worked to clear the smoke using water and blowers.

According to the official, the car was completely gutted in the fire. However, no other vehicles were damaged, and the situation was brought under control by around 7.30 pm.