A 56-year-old man died after the electric car he was travelling in caught fire in Bharatpur early Friday morning, police said.

The incident occurred at around 6 am near Basantachowk in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-9, along the Mahendra Highway.

The deceased has been identified as Amar Parajuli of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-12, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Chandra Bhushan Yadav, spokesperson for the Chitwan District Police Office.

Yadav said the vehicle appeared to have been travelling normally until it reached the Coca-Cola factory in Gondrang. About 500 metres west of the factory, it crossed the main highway lane and turned south towards the service road.

Ghanshyam Poudel, a resident of Basantachowk, was outside his home shortly after 5:30 am to collect kush- the sacred grass, which is used in Hindu rituals marking Kushe Aunsi, when he saw the vehicle approaching from the east.

Poudel said he saw black smoke and red flames coming from the car as it travelled towards Bharatpur at speed. The vehicle crossed the main lane and entered the service road before veering slightly off the road and coming to rest on its side in a small ditch.

“The fire was initially only at the rear of the vehicle. There was no fire at the front,” Poudel said. “It was only after the vehicle hit the side and came to rest in the ditch that the front also caught fire.”

He said the flames intensified after the vehicle stopped and the car began making loud popping sounds.

“When I first came out, the fire was so intense that there was no way to put it out,” he said. “Perhaps he could have survived if the vehicle had stopped earlier and he had been able to open the door, but once the fire spread, it was impossible to extinguish the fire and rescue him.”

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire, including statements from eyewitnesses and CCTV footage from the area.

“We do not want to draw a conclusion about the cause of the fire based only on the initial information,” Yadav said. “We are forming a team that will include mechanical engineers and other experts. The experts’ investigation will establish the actual cause.”

Parajuli lived near Malpotchowk in Bharatpur-12 and ran a dairy and grocery shop.

He had previously been involved as a promoter of Narayani Vidya Mandir School in Shivaghat, Bharatpur and had left the school five years before.

Parajuli had travelled to Hetauda and was returning home on Friday morning when the incident occurred.