Tata Nano catches fire in Sri Lanka

No immediate comment from the Tata agent in Colombo could be obtained.

A budget taxi operator here has claimed that its new Tata Nano car caught fire,the first such case in Sri Lanka,although such incidents have been reported in India.

“The brand-new Tata Nano taxi engulfed in flames shortly after the driver dropped off a passenger in Colombo on Friday last week,” Budget Taxi Operations Manager Suranga said.

Tata Motors,the maker of Nano– touted as world’s cheapest car –could not be contacted for comments.

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No immediate comment from the Tata agent in Colombo could be obtained.

“The driver felt very hot air coming out of the air conditioner vents. Then he saw smoke coming out of the rear (engine) compartment of the vehicle,” Suranga said.

Budget Taxi,which operates a fleet 75 Nano cars,said no one was hurt but the vehicle was complete write off.

The cause of the fire has not been identified,a Budget Taxi spokesperson said.

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More than five cases of Tata Nano catching fire were reported in India after its introduction last year. The company in May 2010 had said that a probe into fire incidents by an expert team found no manufacturing defects and its ‘people’s car’ was “absolutely safe”.

At the same time,the company had offered to conduct pre-emptive checks on all Nanos on the road.