The stakes have been raised since the days of the container ship blocking the passage of the Suez Canal, as recent reports in China show a lorry not only blocking a notably highway passage, but dangling 330ft off a cliff.
If you’re afraid of heights, don’t watch this video:
This terrifying incident occurred in Shanxi province’s Changzhi City on January 1 when Mr. Wu, the driver of the cargo truck seen in the video, was allegedly sent along the narrow and dangerous road by a GPS.
His truck however, proved to clearly be an inappropriate size for the mountainside route.
Once the driver realised this, he reportedly tried to reverse the lorry back and out of the stomach-turning road.
When this reverse was attempted however, the wide truck skidded forward and crashed through the highway’s flimsy guardrails, which clearly weren’t built to withstand an incoming truck.
This resulted in the front wheels of the truck dangerously dangling off the cliff side, with the entire right side of the vehicle also edging dangerously close to the edge.
Miraculously, Mr. Wu was able to vacate the truck and step away from the nail-biting mountainside, leaving his lorry surprisingly stable balancing on the road edge.
Video footage shows that after the incident, rescuers arrived to pull the truck out of danger.
The team of vehicular heroes chained three heavy towing trucks together in an attempt to pull the truck from its peril.
This effort was successful despite taking 3 whole days, and the roadway reopened on January 4, having been closed since January 1.
On how this incident came about, a motorist who was driving behind the truck recalls: “This highway has a restriction where the maximum width of any vehicles should not exceed 6.8 metres.”
They continued: "It's been snowing the past few days and the lorry slipped out of the road when he took a turn and now it gets stuck, blocking the traffic completely."
Since the story broke, social media users have been quick to compare Mr Wu’s ordeal to the hit 1969 film The Italian Job, where a van is also suspended over a cliff edge.
One Twitter user commented: “Hold on, lads. I've got an idea,” in reference to Charlie Croker’s infamous line in the film before he suggested a balance-based mission to save himself, the others in the lorry and some gold.
Thankfully for Mr Wu however, his truck story did not end on a similar ‘cliff-hanger’.
Topics: China, Cars, TV and Film
Frankie Golding