A truck carrying sugarcane burst into flames as it hit overhead power cables in Thailand.

The vehicle was delivering the freshly harvested crop when its tipper bed snagged on low-hanging power lines in Phetchabun province, on January 26.

Sparks erupted and fell onto the sugarcane, igniting a bonfire in the middle of the road. The driver dumped the cargo before his vehicle could be engulfed.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at around 6:10pm. They found the flames eating through the pile of stalks just a few feet away from the roadside sugarcane field.

The fire was later extinguished and cleared from the road with no injuries reported.

A police spokesman said: 'The cause of the fire was the sugarcane truck snagging power lines, causing sparks and igniting the blaze. We urge all drivers carrying tall loads to be careful near power lines.'

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.