A car exploded moments after a police officer and a bystander pulled a seriously injured man from the burning vehicle.
Counties Manukau police Inspector Dave Glossop is praising the actions of a police constable and a member of the public who pulled the unconscious man from the burning wreck seconds before it exploded.
All three are lucky to be alive, he said.
"They were only metres away from the car, dragging this person away," he said. "We're talking about something, described by the officer, that you really only see in the movies."
Just before 4pm today the car, driven by a 27-year-old, crashed into a paddock on Papakura-Clevedon Rd, in Papakura.