A trike rider’s lucky escape was caught on video as he was just inches from passing over a crumbling concrete road that exploded from the extreme heat.
The incident reportedly occurred in Baoding, in northern China’s Hebei Province, due to the scorching heat wave that hit the region.
A street surveillance camera captured a large crack suddenly appearing in the middle of the road, seconds before the rider arrived.
The extreme temperatures caused the concrete to expand and contract rapidly, leading to immense pressure building up beneath the surface.
Unable to withstand the strain, the road suddenly cracks and burst wide open, sending debris flying into the air just as the rider was about to pass over it.
The rider slams the brakes, stopping short of the concrete rubble that now appeared before him and narrowly avoiding it.
He pauses for a brief moment, looking at the crumbled road in apparent disbelief before he turns around and drives away, likely towards an alternative route.
The video – shared later on TikTok, China’s version of TikTok – gained over 170,000 likes and more than 50,000 comments.
One user, titled ‘don’t touch me mermaid line’ left a comment saying: “It’s like being in a war zone with an ambush!”
Another user titled ‘Habitual offender’ wrote: “The road asked, sir, where you are going on such a hot day? Let’s go home, and rest seemed to be the message.”
And user ‘ Pie prestige’ said: “The road on our side also exploded like this at noon yesterday. I was right next to it, and it was very loud.”
Hebei Province has been grappling with an intense heatwave, prompting the local meteorological department to issue multiple red-level heat warnings since July 5th.
Another red-level heat warning was issued at 5am on July 8th, predicting temperatures as high as 37-3 degrees Celsius (98.6- 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in Baoding, Langfang, and the southern regions of Hebei Province.
The red warning is the fourth and final level of alert, indicating that a heatwave has lasted so long at such high temperatures that its consequences “extend beyond the health and social care system.”
In certain areas such as Xingtai and Handan, temperatures were expected to surpass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
