Terrifying moment mum pulls kids out of car seconds before it bursts into flames
A mother has relived the horrifying moment her car went up in flames just seconds after she pulled her children from the backseat.
Catherine Mayes, from Canberra, says she and her young family are lucky to be alive after her Mazda 4WD was ravaged by a wild blaze when the car’s backup battery caught fire on Friday.
Heart-stopping footage shows the vehicle stopped at Point Hut Lake before thick smoke begins to seep from the car.
A terrified Ms Mayes rushed to the rescue of her two young sons, pulling one-year-old Tommy out of the backseat before racing to the left rear door to grab her other boy, five-month-old Hunter.
When she opens the door a cloud of smoke billows out, just seconds before a fire breaks out and engulfs the vehicle.
“I had a guardian angel looking after me and my boys today that’s for sure,” Ms Mayes wrote on Facebook.
“This was the ultimate wake up call that life is short and can be over in a matter of minutes.”
Emergency services rushed to scene, with the fire quickly extinguished.
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A couple who lived nearby also rushed to their aid and gave the young boys water and snacks.
The mother claims the fire started when a backup car battery she had been using to jump start her car popped open and made a “fizz sound”.
“It exploded and let out a crazy amount of smoke and started to catch fire,” she recalled.
The battery is produced by hand tool company Boxo, and has a warning on its box reminding consumers the product must not be left in the sun.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Boxo regarding the incident.
“I am so lucky that it happened while I wasn’t driving, and that I went into auto mode and got my boys out of the car and away from danger,” the mother added.
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