A lucky driver escaped unhurt just minutes before his car went up in flames on a busy road in Sharjah. The incident happened on Al Ittihad Road near Zahrat Al Quds restaurant on Wednesday night. People living near by reported that three cars crashed into one another about 9.55pm and one burst into flames nearly five minutes later. The driver jumped out of the car and tried to put out the flames using the fire extinguisher in his vehicle. Passers-by tried to help but failed to control the blaze because of a strong wind. A police patrol car that was near by helped to divert traffic to avoid congestion. For nearly 25 minutes, smoke billowed into the sky before emergency services arrived. The fire was put out by 10.25pm and no injuries were reported. A resident of the area took a video of the incident. “The three saloon cars crashed into one another. Then nearly five minutes later one of them burst into flames,” the resident said. He took the video from his balcony. "The driver escaped from his burning car. He and three to five people used extinguishers to put out the fire but the wind was strong and they couldn’t.”