A biker was accidentally set on fire when he was sprayed with sanitizer at a drive-through coronavirus check point in India last week.
Footage shows a man pulling up in front of two government workers at a complex in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to be sprayed with disinfectant to remove traces of the coronavirus from his motorcycle.
Just seconds after the workers spray the back of his bike, the entire vehicle erupts into a ball of bright orange flames.
The shocked rider hops off his motorbike and dumps it in the road and runs away.
The biker pulled up to have his bike disinfected last week, in the hopes of stopping the spread of coronavirus in Gujarat, India, one of the country’s hardest-hit states
Flames can be seen spreading up the man from the right side of the motorbike in Gujarat, India last week
The quick thinking workers at the Arvind Mill complex leaped into action, pulling the sanitiser away from the blaze.
A source said: ‘Another worker is seen immediately pulling the bike away in order to prevent it from getting damaged further.
‘One of the workers is then seen running to grab a fire extinguisher and then comes and tries to spray it on the fire.
‘Unable to make it operational, he grabs a bottle of water and pours on the fire in a bid to douse it.’
A single cough can disperse 3,000 droplets of the deadly virus, which can remain on metallic surfaces for two to three days. In badly-hit areas, government officials have ordered workers to disinfect vehicles.
India, which has yet to reach its peak for virus transmission, shot up the global coronavirus chart today, with officials recording 8,392 fresh cases – the highest daily increase yet.
Deaths were also on the rise, with 230 fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours.
Pictured: The man is engulfed in flames after his motorbike was sprayed with disinfectant in Gujarat, India
Sources said that the man acted quickly, throwing the bike to the ground before running away in Gujarat, India last week
Today’s record spike saw India climb to the seventh spot in countries worst hit by the virus, passing Germany and France, as its confirmed cases rose to more than 190,000, including 5,394 deaths.
The country’s mortality rate remains one of the lowest in the world at 2.8 per cent.
The upward trend in new infections did not stop India’s cities opening up today as part of a three-phase plan to lift the nationwide lockdown.
Businesses and shops reopened in many states and the railways announced 200 more special passenger trains. Some states also opened their borders, allowing vehicular traffic.
The coastal state of Maharashtra, home to the financial hub of Mumbai and Bollywood, allowed the resumption of film production with some restrictions in place.
Roads are packed with vehicles in New Delhi, India today, after a nationwide lockdown was lifted, despite the country recording a record spike in infections in the past 24 hours
The first phase of the easing of the lockdown, called Unlock 1, will restrict curbs to containment zones – areas that have been isolated due to coronavirus outbreaks. It gives states more power to decide and strategize lockdown implementations locally.
More than 60 per cent of the country’s virus fatalities have been reported in only two states – Maharashtra and Gujarat. The new cases are also largely concentrated in six Indian states, including New Delhi, the capital.
There are concerns that the virus may be spreading through India’s villages as millions of jobless migrant workers return home from big cities.
A hairdresser wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) works in a beauty salon today after the country eased lockdown, despite a record spike in infections
Experts warn that the pandemic has yet to peak in India, and many states have begun to identify more high-risk zones where coronavirus lockdowns will continue until June 30. But restaurants, malls and religious venues are permitted to reopen elsewhere on June 8.
In a radio address to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned citizens and asked them to remain vigilant.
‘Becoming careless or lackadaisical cannot be an option,’ he said. Modi’s government has stressed that restrictions are being eased to focus on promoting economic activity, which has been severely hit by the virus lockdown.
The sudden halt to the Indian economy when the lockdown began March 25 has been devastating for daily laborers and migrant workers, who fled cities on foot for their family homes in the countryside.
The country’s unemployment rate in May rose to 23.48 per cent, according to data released Monday.