Now THAT'S an unlucky jam! Ambulance gets stuck under a bridge after driver misjudged height of the overpass

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A Chinese ambulance crew were caught in an embarrassing situation yesterday when their vehicle became trapped under an overpass.

The roof of the emergence vehicle was shaven off by the six-foot-tall bridge while it was speeding on the No. 1 Ring Road in Chengdu, south-west China, reported the People's Daily Online.

It took the traffic police more than an hour to pull out the vehicle from the tunnel with the help of a passing truck driver.

Unlucky: The ambulance driver misjudged the height of the bridge that ripped off the vehicle roof in Chengdu

A good deed! Eventually a passing truck driver stopped to help drag the ambulance out with ropes. The sign of height limit, 1.8 metres, can be seen hung on the bridge

The 6.5-foot-tall ambulance was passing through the Nine-arched Bridge in Chengdu at around 1pm on December 8.

According to the report, the driver said he was not familiar with the vicinity, and when he was approaching the bridge he forgot to check the height limit, which is 1.8 metres (six feet).

Eyewitnesses reportedly heard a loud 'bang' when the ambulance entered the under-bridge tunnel at speed.

The vehicle was seen stuck about ten feet into the tunnel, with its roof completely wrecked. Surrounding the ambulance lay the debris from the roof, the driver could not move an inch further.

The roof above the ambulance was damaged on the bridge when the driver accidentally drove underneath it

Aftermath: Once the ambulance was out of the tunnel it left a huge mess behind from its roof and the bridge

Traffic police were called to the scene immediately. 

They spent an hour trying various means to remove the ambulance from the tunnel - including letting out the air in the tyres to reduce the ambulance's height. However, all attempts failed.

A passing truck driver eventually gave a helping hand. Using thick rope to tie the two vehicles together, he slowly pulled the ambulance out from under the bridge.

After the accident a female member of the crew said luckily they were not on their way to rescue anyone. The ambulance was taking members of staff to a meeting, and to get some more medical equipment.

The bridge was also damaged as a result of the accident, the roof above the ambulance was scratched, and paint had been scraped off.

There will be a bridge inspector visiting the scene to make further tests to determine the extent of damage, and to see if compensation will be handed out. 

No injuries has been reported during the accident.

The roof was shaven off by the six-foot-tall bridge while it was speeding on the No. 1 Ring Road in Chengdu