Thrissur (Kerala) | A lorry carrying parcels caught fire on Thursday at a service road near Nadathara here due to the bursting of firecrackers in some of the packages it was transporting, police said.

The incident occurred around 9 AM when the packages from the lorry were being unloaded to another vehicle, police said, adding that one of the workers carrying out the work suffered burns to his arm.

An officer of Ollur police station said that while dragging the packages along the floor of the lorry, during the unloading process, a spark was generated, leading to the crackers catching fire.

The lorry was also badly damaged, the officer said.

The driver of the lorry transporting the packages had absconded from the site in the other vehicle to which the goods were being unloaded after the fire broke out, he said.

The officer said that the driver has been found and will be taken into custody.

The person injured in the fire has been taken into custody, he added.

A case under the Explosives Act will be registered against the parcel transportation company and the persons who sent the packages containing firecrackers, police said