Woman’s car explodes after she lit a cigarette while driving

A woman's car caught fire after she lit a cigarette while driving.

It's thought that the incident, which happened in the town of Velikiye Luki in Pskov Oblast in West Russia, occurred when the driver had a leaking gas canister in the vehicle.

When she went to light her cigarette, the naked flame ignited the gas and caused a massive flame that engulfed the vehicle.

The green car, a Citroen Xsara, was being filmed by a driver in a vehicle travelling behind it in the right-hand lane through a residential area.

Apart from veering slightly to the right, the Citroen is being driven as normal until fire appears to come out of the side windows and underneath the vehicle.

The Citroen driver immediately stops the car across the lane and jumps out allowed the flames to engulf the inside of the vehicle.

She was heard screaming and seemed to have smoke coming off her back, but otherwise appeared to be uninjured.

The driver in the car behind rushed to help her, as the fire continues to ravage the green Citroen, orange flames climbing higher and black smoke billowing from the interior of the car.

Traffic continued to pass on the left side of the road, but the driver filming the incident got into his vehicle and reversed a safe distance away from the fire.

The shocking incident unfolded in less than three minutes.