A Spanish man who was trying to safeguard his town from a wildfire had a close brush with death on Monday (July 18) when the blaze engulfed his excavator, forcing him to run for his life tapping out flames on his clothes, Reuters video footage showed.

Angel Martin Arjona, owner of a construction warehouse in the northwestern Zamora province, was taken to hospital by helicopter with serious burns after his dramatic escape, his friend, local mechanic Juan Lozano, told Reuters.

Arjona had been digging a trench in a field as a buffer for the approaching fire when the sea of flames closed in on him.

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