Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, had a lucky escape from disaster after being rescued from a burning car in the west of the country.

According to reports President Sall’s official vehicle caught fire while being driven to the funeral of the late Senegalese statesman, Ousmane Tanor Dieng.

The incident happened on Wednesday July 17 in the village of Nguéniene, the hometown of the late Tanor Dieng.

President Macky Sall was said to have been in the vehicle with his Malian counterpart Ibrahima Boubacar Keita.

According to eyewitnesses the fire started from the engine and quickly engulfed the car. The president and his guest were quickly ushered out of the vehicle by security guards and taken away to safety.

Eyewitnesses also said that the car caught fire after it hit a speed bump.

A viral video of the incident which was widely shared on social media showed the president being taken away to a nearby house as guards retrieved items from the boots of the burning vehicle.

Firefighters were quickly at the scene to put out the fire as a crowd of onlookers were moved away by the police and gendarmeries.

Engine failure has been blamed for the cause of the fire. However the Senegalese government has yet to give any details about the incident.

Ousmane Tanor Dieng (January 2, 1947 – July 15, 2019), who died in France on Monday July 15, was the First Secretary of the Socialist Party of Senegal. He was vice-president of the Socialist International since 1996.