Container truck explodes in front of firemen tackling blaze

This is the terrifying moment a burning container truck exploded in front of firemen who were trying to put out the blaze in Thailand.

The driver lost control along the road before his vehicle flipped over and crashed onto an electrical post in Samut Prakan province on March 24 evening.

He was able to crawl out of the truck after the power cables ignited and the trailer caught fire, which quickly spread on the vehicle and dried grass.

Firemen arrived to put out the blaze but they were unaware that the truck was carrying bottles of highly-flammable paint thinner and they began spraying water on the inferno – only for it to suddenly explode.

Light yellow smoke was seen coming out of the trailer before the explosion injuring two firemen who were holding the water hose near the truck and two media workers doing a report on the incident.

Pongsakorn Rodphai, one of the injured reporters, said the smoke was suffocating and severely irritated his eyes.

He said: ‘I nearly fainted, I cannot breath.

My face felt a burning sensation and my eyes were severely irritated.

I thought I was going to die.’ The injured were rushed to the hospital while the firefighting team stopped spraying the fire with water as it created an irritating chemical steam.

Another team then arrived with firefighting foam which they used to put out the fire.

The blaze was controlled after two hours and towed the trailer away from the road.

The driver was then taken by officers to the police station where he was detained while investigations are ongoing.