KANGAR: A man cheated death when his car exploded and caught fire while refueling at a petrol station in Repoh, here today.
The incident took place at 4.10pm when the man, in his 40s, had stopped to fill up his vehicle.
Kangar district police chief, Assistant Commissioner Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop, said preliminary investigations showed that the man had stopped at one of the pumps at the station.
"While he was filling up the car, the vehicle's fuel tank exploded, engulfing the car in flames.
"The victim sustained light burns on his hands from exploded glass fragments from his car," he said when contacted today.
He said the station attendants moved swiftly to battle the fire. The blaze was put out in 15 minutes.
"Based on preliminary investigations by the Perlis Fire and Rescue Department, the fire began at the front left passenger seat.
"They suspect that the fire was caused by a spark from a mobile phone in the car, which reacted to the petrol fumes.
"Firemen also took samples of a phone charger as well as cigarettes from the front left passenger seat," he said.
He said the authorities have ruled out foul play in the incident.
The victim was sent to the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital in Kangar for treatment.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Perlis Fire and Rescue Department said 10 personnel from the Kangar Fire and Rescue Station were rushed to the scene after being alerted by members of the public.
The fire also damaged the petrol station's roof.