Driver discards cigarette, sets own pick up truck ablaze

A man set fire to his own pickup truck when he threw a cigarette butt out of the window on a motorway in southeast China. Flames and heavy smoke engulfed the back of the vehicle as it came off a motorway in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, and stopped near a toll station, according to local media reports.

Several people rushed from the toll station to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers. Investigators ruled out self-ignition as the cause because the rest of the truck was intact. Self-ignition usually occurs in the front and middle part of a vehicle.

Admitting he had smoked a cigarette and thrown the butt out of the truck window, the driver, surnamed Wu, said the wind had probably blown the butt on to the back of his truck. Some plastic cages and two bicycles were damaged in the fire.

WATCH: 258 Runners Caught Cheating During Half Marathon In China

Earlier on Friday, another bizzare incident came to light from China. Organisers of the Shenzhen half-marathon said the 258 participants caught cheating during Sunday’s race will not be able to run away from punishment for their actions. As many as 18 runners were found to wearing fake bibs, and three were running on behalf of others. As per reports, they face lifetime bans from the event.

The 237 others, most of whom had taken shortcuts during the race and were caught out by traffic cameras and local photographers, could be banned for two years.

In the most blatant case, a traffic camera caught runners turning round at least 1km before they were supposed to make a U-turn, potentially shaving about 10% off the 21km race.

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 Footage shows runners crossing through bushes and trees that separated two parts of the course.

 “We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event. Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself”, said the organizer. 

“Don’t run and forget why you run. Don’t let the marathon turn sour.”