A truck drove more than eight kilometres on a highway in Turkey’s Samsun while being fully engulfed in flames, leaving motorists in disbelief.
A video of the jaw-dropping incident went viral on social media, showing the full extent of the damage.
According to a report by Russia Today, the truck was carrying chemical cargo when it caught fire. As if that was not enough, the vehicle’s brakes also failed, leaving no choice for the driver but to move on the highway.
The driver survived the incident after managing to stop the truck by slamming into a barrier on the road.
{{/usCountry}}The driver survived the incident after managing to stop the truck by slamming into a barrier on the road.
{{/usCountry}}The truck was charred from the fire, and its components were scattered all over the asphalt on the highway.
Some more footage of the incident, which was viral on social media, showed onlookers watching the truck drive past them in absolute horror.
Wildfire in Turkey
Officials said more than 250 people were evacuated overnight as a wildfire raged on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula flanking the Dardanelles Strait. Turkish firefighters were battling Sunday to quench the blaze.
The fire began on Saturday in the northwestern province of Canakkale, and spread quickly due to high winds in the hills near the town of Gelibolu, on the shores of the busy shipping strait.
"As a precaution, 251 residents from five villages were relocated to safe areas," Canakkale governor Omer Toraman wrote on X.
Footage showed the hillsides illuminated by bright flames while huge clouds of smoke poured into the night air.
Toraman said the province, a popular destination for tourists visiting the ancient ruins of Troy, as well as the Gallipoli battleground where thousands of soldiers died in World War I, had suffered "extremely severe drought" over the past year.
While the weather has been fairly normal for the time of year, much of northwestern Turkey has suffered strong winds in recent days, although they eased off on Sunday.
Firefighters worked through the night, with 12 planes and 18 helicopters rejoining the efforts at first light in an operation involving 900 people, the forestry directorate said on X.