---
title: "Watch This Entire Highway Explode After a Car Drives Over a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Spill"
description: "Talk about a highway to Hell: A liquefied petroleum gas spill on an expressway in China erupted into a gargantuan inferno, engulfing the entire roadway and several vehicles, after a car drove through the highly flammable substance and caused it to ignite. And somehow, amazingly, everyone involved survived."
date: "2018-02-15"
modified: "2018-02-16"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/18535/watch-this-entire-highway-explode-after-a-car-drives-over-a-liquefied-petroleum-gas-spill"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "China"
  - "fire"
  - "highway"
  - "liquefied petroleum gas"
  - "spill"
  - "Tanker"
---

# Watch This Entire Highway Explode After a Car Drives Over a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Spill

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/02/lpg-fire-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Talk about a highway to Hell: A [liquefied petroleum gas](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/14230/heres-why-you-shouldnt-smoke-with-a-propane-tank-in-your-car.md>) spill on an expressway in China erupted into a gargantuan inferno that engulfed the entire roadway and several vehicles after a car drove through the highly flammable substance and caused it to ignite. And somehow—amazingly—everyone involved survived.

The explosion occurred on the Beijing-Harbin highway in northern China on Sunday, [according to *Mirror,*](<https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/huge-gas-tanker-explosion-motorway-12012229>) and the dramatic scene was captured on a driver's dash cam. In the clip, a tanker trunk that was carrying the liquefied gas is crumpled on the side of the road following an earlier accident. It's tough to see, but you can just make out a huge LPG leak gushing out onto the highway. Several cars inch forward, including what looks like a brand-new Mazda CX-4 demo vehicle, unaware of the calamity about to unfold.

Suddenly, a towering column of fire erupts from underneath the Mazda, spreading across the highway in less than a second and creating a wall of roiling flames that looks to be at least fifty feet high. The car that sparked the explosion looks to be totally consumed, while another driver flees their vehicle and runs from the blast as the camera car backs up in a panic. Incredibly, you can see the Mazda driver later jump out and sprint away when the flames briefly die down; despite the fire's incredible intensity, it thankfully didn't burn long enough to incinerate the vehicle and its unlucky occupant.

https://youtube.com/embed/o5LSVGHsmqM

When liquefied petroleum gas—commonly sold as propane and butane—leaks out of a high-pressure container, it's sometimes released as a liquid that quickly evaporates thanks to its extremely low boiling point. However, the gas is still heavier than air, so it pools on the ground and poses an invisible and dangerous fire hazard. That's why the inferno ends up [stretching for hundreds of yards](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/18252/wheel-less-trailer-rains-fire-on-australian-highway.md>) down the side of the highway as the LPG drained off the road surface like water.

[*Mirror* reports](<https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/huge-gas-tanker-explosion-motorway-12012229>) that while the truck driver received serious burns, everyone else involved got away with minor injuries. Cars can be [surprisingly safe places in a fire](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/15065/deputys-dash-cam-video-from-the-california-wildfires-is-like-riding-through-hell.md>)—but this one definitely could have ended a *lot* worse.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)