Watch: Kerala man drives burning truck to safety, earns praise from netizens

A Kerala man has gained praises on social media for driving a blazing vehicle to safety. The incident took place on 30 January in Kodenchery town, in Kozhikode district in Kerala when a truck laden with hay caught fire. The driver of the truck panicked and jumped out of the vehicle.

An onlooker, later identified as Shaji Varghese, leaped into action and avoided a bigger tragedy by driving the truck into an open field. Not only Varghese drove away the truck from a crowded area, he also managed to save the burning vehicle by driving it in a zigzag manner to offload the burning hay bundles.

Local residents, who gathered at the scene, also rushed to help and separated the hay bundles which did not catch fire. Later, the fire department reached the spot and doused the flames.

The daring act of Shaji Varghese was shared by Instagram handle ‘kozhikottukaarofficial’. According to the caption, the fire was caused due to a short circuit in overhead electrical lines, under which the truck passed.

Watch the video here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by നമ്മൾ കോഴിക്കോട്ടുകാർ (@kozhikottukaarofficial)

Since being shared, the video clip has garnered over 14,000 likes and people have hailed Varghese’s courage.

Shaji Varghese works as a heavy-duty motorist. During an interview with Asiannet News, he told that his past experiences helped him tackle the situation. Varghese added that he has been invited to a number of public events after the footage of his heroics went viral on the internet.

The officers of Mukkam Fire and Rescue Services also hailed the courage of the 45-year-old man.

According to senior fire and rescue officer Pius Augustine, the fire station is 20 kilometres from the accident site. If Varghese hadn't handled the situation properly, Augustine said that the fire's impact would have been unexpected.

This is not Varghese’s first heroic act, reported The Indian Express. Varghese and his friends picked up a car two years ago that had overturned in Kolli. The car was stuck on the edge of about a 50 feet cliff.

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