The owner of a 2005 Smart city car mixed up the filling holes and was left without a car, writes The Telegraph newspaper. A 54-year-old British woman inserted a filling nozzle into the engine air duct instead of the filler neck.
How could this happen? The 2005 Smart model has a design feature - a round hole on the left side through which air enters the engine. Outside, it is covered with a plastic cover. Offhand, it may seem that this is the filler neck, especially since it is located exactly in the same place as the tank cap, but on the opposite side of the machine.
The woman poured gasoline into the air duct, then got into the passenger compartment and turned the key in the ignition - at that moment the fuel filled in the wrong place ignited. She was saved by a 54-year-old man who heard a pop and was not afraid to pull the owner of the "Smart" out of the car engulfed in fire. The man burned himself, because after opening the door there was another bang and the flames reached his neck and arms.
The savior managed to drag the owner of the burning city car a few meters when the fuel hose caught fire and another bang was heard. But everything ended well: the fuel supply to the pumps was cut off, the woman was not injured. Apparently, a massive “inflated” jacket saved her from the fire.
“It’s funny that everyone calls me a hero, but I just acted, didn’t think about anything. I’m glad I could help,” commented the man, who was not afraid to intervene in the incident.
In fairness, it should be noted that the creators of the car clearly foresaw a similar scenario and warned that fuel should not be poured into the air duct. But you can see this information only after removing the cover - the inscription is inside (no fuel).
Citicar Smart exploded at a gas station - a filling nozzle was inserted into the air duct
