# Car catches fire on NH-44 near Banihal, occupants safe 2026-08-17T20:56:29+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet A Toyota Hyryder caught fire on National Highway-44 near Shalgadi Nallah in Banihal on Monday evening. Police, local volunteers, Fire and Emergency Services, and an NHAI ambulance reached the spot and controlled the blaze. The vehicle, bearing registration number JK05Q-7666, was travelling from Baramulla to Jammu when it met with an accident at Shalgari and caught fire. Both occupants, Rafiq Ahmed of Baramulla and Bashir Ahmed of Kupwara, escaped unhurt, said SHO Banihal Aashiq Hussain Lone. The car was completely damaged in the fire. Police have initiated proceedings to determine the cause of the accident. ## Coverage - greaterkashmir.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Banihal, Greater Kashmir, National Highway-44 Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/car-catches-fire-on-nh-44-near-banihal-occupants-safe/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/car-catches-fire-on-nh-44-near-banihal-occupants-safe/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/