Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: AsiaWire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This traffic camera footage shows a HGV ablaze on a motorway shortly before the driver manages to detach the cab to save at least part of his vehicle.

The fire happened on the motorway within Mojiang Hani Autonomous County in the tea-producing city of Pu’er in south-western China’s Yunnan Province.

Emergency service vehicles were dispatched after traffic monitored noticed the heavy goods vehicle ablaze and slowly pulling over onto the hard shoulder.

Footage shows thick smoke rising from the back of the flaming lorry, with fortunately no other vehicles around at the time.

The articulated lorry driver, surnamed Gu, had noticed the fire and is understood to have saved himself and his tractor by uncoupling his trailer.

Footage from the motorway shows him having parked his tractor at a safe distance while the rest of his vehicle – and the cargo inside – burns away.

The police said they redirected traffic and the fire service put out the flames within minutes.

The cause of the blaze was reportedly a blockage in the lorry’s water-cooled brakes, which caught fire as temperatures rose from constant use.

No one was injured during the incident, with further investigations continuing.

Picture Credit: AsiaWire