Dubai: An Indian man has died and two others injured when a pick-up van they were repairing caught fire at a workshop in Bahrain. Jijo Varghese Cherian, 21, was in a maintenance pit at Nuwaidrat on Monday when the blaze broke out and suffered third degree burns. Cherian was taken to Salmaniya Medical Complex but died an hour later, the Gulf Daily News reported on Tuesday. His colleagues Aby Mathew and Thomas Parackal George, who had also been inside the pit, managed to escape and tried to pull him out but were beaten back by the flames and smoke.

The fire is believed to have started as a result of an electrical short circuit. "The workers were underneath the vehicle when the incident took place at around 8 am," said a colleague, who asked to remain anonymous.

All three, hailing from Kerala, worked for Al Namal Contracting and Trading Company. Cherian's father Geevarghese also works for the firm, but was too upset to speak. Civil Defence sources said an investigation was underway. Modnay's incident was the second fatal fire involving a garage in six months.