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A 275mph drag racing boat bursts into flames before spinning out of control and disintegrating in a horrifying high-speed crash in front of a crowd of spectators.

And amazingly the pilot Scott Lumbert was pulled live from the wreckage and flown to hospital.

His top fuel hydroplane boat, named the Spirit of Texas, had reached an estimated 240mph before the gut-wrenching accident that almost cost his life.

Scott Lumbert's drag racing boat burst into flames as it reached 240mph on a lake in Texas
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Scott Lumbert's drag racing boat burst into flames as it reached 240mph on a lake in TexasCredit: Youtube/hunterhonda
The boat's rear engine appeared to explode, sending it spinning out of control
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The boat's rear engine appeared to explode, sending it spinning out of controlCredit: Youtube/hunterhonda
The boat rolled over and hit the water with a devastating impact
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The boat rolled over and hit the water with a devastating impactCredit: Youtube/hunterhonda
The Spirit of Texas speed boat disintegrated but Scott somehow survived
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The Spirit of Texas speed boat disintegrated but Scott somehow survivedCredit: Youtube/hunterhonda

Scott, 35, had easily won his final heat of the LakeFest racing weekend at Marble Falls, Texas, when flames shot out of the rear engine.

The high-powered craft then rolled over and hit the water in a devastating impact that shattered the boat onto thousands of pieces.

Police Department Captain Glenn Hanson said: "It looked like there was more fire and water than there should have been once he got to the finish line, and once the water and smoke finally cleared there was nothing left of the boat."

The horrific crash happened on August 14 but video footage has only just emerged.

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Lumbert was rescued and airlifted to Austin for treatment, where he was put into a medically induced coma.

His sister Lynn said on Facebook has told fans he is slowly making progress but he remains critically ill.

Scott, whose father also raced drag boats, began in the sport as a child and is known as the "fastest man on water" after clocking 274.927mph in the Spirit of Texas on the Colorado River.

The accident came after Mike Fry, 52, was killed in a crash during the LakeFest event, the first fatality in its 25 year history.

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