Chennai: Leather goods were damaged when a container lorry carrying it caught fire near Poonamalle in the wee hours of today.
Police said the lorry was travelling towards Maduravoyal to reach the highway to Chennai Port when commuters from other vehicles on the same route noticed smoke coming from inside the container and alerted the driver.
The driver immediately stopped and disembarked from the vehicle and informed the fire department. A team from Ambattur and Ponamalle under Ponamallee unit chief Elangovan rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Following this, Poonamalle police arrived at the spot and began investigations. An officer said the products came from a leather manufacturing factory in Singarayapuram belonging to Mahadi Ali. The container lorry had 5.5-tonne leather goods and they were damaged.
The lorry was travelling to the Chennai Port with the goods meant for export to foreign markets.
Fire department officials investigating the case suspect that the fire could have been triggered by low hanging electric wires in Kumamanchavadi that might have brushed with the container to spark a fire inside.
Police are investigating the case for further clues under Poonamalle Assistant Commissioner Sembedu Babu.