Incredible moment 13 people escape from tiny burning minibus after it burst into flames at a petrol station
- The incident took place in the suburb of Bramley, in Johannesburg, on March 27
- A member of staff tried to pull open one of the van’s doors to save a passenger
Thirteen people escaped from a minibus in South Africa after it burst into flames at a petrol station.
The incident took place in the suburb of Bramley, in Johannesburg, on March 27.
Footage shows the van, which is described as a taxi, on the petrol station forecourt when flames start to erupt from underneath the front wheels.
The man in the passenger seat struggles to open the door as one person crashes though a rear window.
Petrol station attendant Abdullah James, 36, heroically rushes over to the passenger’s window and tries to pull it open as others jump out of windows to escape.
Petrol station attendant Abdullah James, 36, heroically rushes over to the passenger’s window and tries to pull it open as others jump through the windows to escape
The man in the passenger seat jumps out of the back window and others are then helped to safety a split second before the front of the vehicle explodes, with black smoke billowing from it
After a few seconds, the man in the passenger seat escapes through the window.
Others are helped to safety a split second before the front of the vehicle explodes, with black smoke billowing from it.
The remaining passengers are then pulled from the back of the van, with one returning to quickly grab an item from beside the flaming vehicle.
James can then be seen running back with a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze.
Other members of staff also come over to help.
James said: ‘When I saw the fire coming underneath that taxi, I immediately ran to it to help those inside so they could survive.
The fire started beneath the front wheels of the vehicle. Many passengers had to resort to jumping out of windows to escape
James and other members of staff at the petrol station used extinguishers to put out the fire
‘I was not even thinking about myself, there was at least 13 people in there and I knew I could not leave them stranded in the fire.’
He said that he acted after hearing one of the petrol station employees shouting: ‘Help, the taxi is burning.’
James said that no one died in the accident, but two passengers sustained minor injuries when they escaped through the van’s windows.
