Shocking moment footpath explodes in man's face after throwing cigarette down sewer

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A man has miraculously escaped death after throwing a cigarette butt down a hole only for it to cause an enormous explosion that sent him flying backwards.

The shocking moment the man accidentally caused the underground sewer to blow up was captured by a CCTV camera positioned nearby, according to theDaily Mail.

Believed to have occurred in Tehran, Iran, the footage shows the man throwing the butt down a hole, before a massive blast rocks the street seconds later.

The footage first shows a well-dressed man standing over the small round hole in the footpath.

Standing over the gap in the walkway, the man begins to empty a plastic bag full of rubble down into the abyss, before walking away.

Some 15 minutes later the CCTV camera captures another man approaching, before he, too, stops, takes a cigarette from his mouth and throws it into the sewer.

Only seconds later, as he still stands looking down the hole, an enormous explosion erupts from beneath, blowing the path up and throwing the man backwards.

When the dust clears the full impact of the blast can be seen, with the man crawling away on his hands and knees amidst the ruins of the walkway.

Clearly in distress, the man manages to pull himself to his feet before walking out of view of the video.

A caption written in Persian alongside the video appears to warn of the dangers of throwing cigarette butts into sewers.

Since first being shared to Twitter on Monday, the footage has been viewed millions of times around the world.