Video: Flaming Bus Crashes, Sparks Electrical Fire

Residents of a São Paulo neighborhood are reeling after a terrifying bus crash yesterday that looked straight out of an action movie. 

According to local outlet Revista Oeste, it all happened after an electrical malfunction aboard the bus in the southern zone of the city. The driver reportedly pulled the hand brake and turned off the engine before letting passengers off the bus. Once everyone had gotten off, the bus burst into flames, making the driver's evacuation of the passengers a miraculously timed act. 

Shocking video from the scene showed just how bad it could've been if anyone had remained in their seats. The harrowing footage shows the bus on fire as a burnt shell of its former self, and because there was no one to drive it as it moved, the flaming bus careened off the street into an electrical pole. That sparked an even bigger blaze that left bystanders terrified. 

As the person recording the video called for help, car and motorcycle drivers headed down the road were forced to turn onto another street as firefighters tried to put out the blaze. Once it was extinguished, all that was reportedly left of the bus' carcass was the steel frames of the seats. 

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Authorities are still investigating the cause of the bus fire. In these kinds of situations, as we can see, quick thinking—and more importantly, quick action—can mean the difference between life and death.