Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska,  Agency: Newsflash

This is the moment a taxi broken down at the side of the road bursts into flames as the driver inspects the engine, sending three women inside scrambling to escape the inferno.

The incident was filmed in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan close to Oaxaca City located in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on 5th June.

After the footage was widely shared on social media, State Fire Department chief Manuel Maza Sanchez highlighted the courage of the citizen who tackled the blaze with the correct type of fire extinguisher, adding that his timely intervention could have prevented a major incident.

Maza Sanchez said: “I would like to meet him, to congratulate him on his support for the community.”

In the footage, the taxi driver is seen lifting the bonnet of his parked car after reportedly being warned of a possible fuel leak by a passerby.

A huge fireball suddenly sparks and the driver has to run clear through the flames before three women jump out of the burning taxi.

The vehicle is nearly completely engulfed in flames by the time a heavyset man with a powder fire extinguisher enters the fray.

He apparently empties the extinguisher onto the smouldering car, putting out most of the flames, as other onlookers throw water on the vehicle and someone else arrives with another powder extinguisher.

Meanwhile, the taxi driver returns briefly to collect some belongings from inside his vehicle.

The fire department chief said the taxi driver should not have been operating a vehicle with obvious mechanical problems and apparently did not have sufficient training for what to do in such an incident.

The fire brigade have sent their findings to the state transport authority to launch an investigation into the incident.