Warning: This video contains graphic content which may disturb some people.
Incredible footage shows emergency services risking their lives to pull victims from a blazing car in Hamilton.
Two people died after the crash between a car and a truck on Whitiora's Ulster Street in Hamilton on Sunday morning, while another two people were transported to hospital in a critical condition.
Footage supplied to Newshub shows emergency responders reaching into the burning car in a desperate race to remove victims in time.
In a statement, Police said they commend the "heroic actions" of the officers who pulled two of the occupants to safety while it was on fire. As a result, some suffered from smoke inhalation and are recovering at home.
Police would also like to thank the members of the public who rushed over to offer their help.
An eyewitness who didn't want to be named told Newshub there were three men and a woman in the car and she believed they were aged from late teens to late 20s.
She said there was a real community effort to rescue the people from the car with a worker from a nearby PAK'nSAVE rushing over to help. People also ran over from an emergency housing motel and tried to put the fire out with fire extinguishers.
Police said formal identification and next of kin processes are ongoing and they are working to investigate the full circumstances of the crash.
"We can confirm a Police unit was already on patrol in the vicinity of the crash at the time it occurred and was able to respond instantly," they said.
"We can also confirm that Police were not following or pursuing this vehicle leading up to the crash."
Members of the public who witnessed the event and may have recorded any parts of the incident are asked to make contact with Police on 105 quoting file number 230709/5741.
