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Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond has been airlifted to hospital after being involved in a fiery car crash in a Swiss mountain race during filming for The Grand Tour.

Hammond, 47, suffered injuries when his car spun out of control on a road that was closed for the Bergrennen Hemberg race.

He had a miraculous escape after managing to step out of the Rimac Concept One super car just moments before it burst into flames.

Dramatic footage captured the moment the car enthusiast, who appeared to be driving at speed, skidded into a bend on the track.

Photos then showed a wrecked car in flames alongside a road in the canton of St. Gallen before the blaze was extinguished by firefighters.

In a statement, The Grand Tour said: "Richard Hammond was involved in a serious car crash after completing the Hemburg Hill Climb in Switzerland in a Rimac Concept One, an electric super car built in Croatia, during filming for The Grand Tour Season 2 on Amazon Prime, but very fortunately suffered no serious injury.

(Image: youtube)

"Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames. He was flown by Air Ambulance to hospital in St Gallen to be checked over revealing a fracture to his knee.

"Nobody else was in the car or involved in the accident, and we'd like to thank the paramedics on site for their swift response. The cause of the crash is unknown and is being investigated.

It is not the first time Richard Hammond has been injured in a car while filming, the first being in September 2006 when he crashed a Vampire dragster while travelling at 288mph.

Police spokesperson Gian Andrea Rezzoli, from the St Gallen police, said the injured driver in was rushed to hospital by air ambulance, the Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: WENN.com)

The driver was conscious, the spokesperson added.

Richard's co-star, Jeremy Clarkson, tweeted: "It was the biggest crash I've ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK."

Hammond was in Switzerland filming scenes for the Amazon series The Grand Tour, which he stars in along with ex-Top Gear co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May, according to Swiss media.

Fans were quick to offer well wishes to Hammond on social media.

The Grand Tour presenter was pictured smiling alongside one fan just two hours ago, with the location tagged as the Bergrennen Hemberg race. It is thought to have been taken not long before the accident occurred, alongside the jokey caption: "New colleague".

Afterwards, the fan wrote: "We pray for him."

Just two months ago, Hammond fell off his motorbike while filming for the Grand Tour in Mozambique.

Writing on his blog for Drive Tribe, he said: "I banged my head, yes, along with pretty much everything else apart from my left thumb, which remains unbruised. Can't tell you more yet about the how and why of it; that's all for later in the year on the show."

(Image: PA)

Joking about the severity of his 2006 accident, the presenter added: "As for injuries; well put it this way, I don't think I can get a book out of it."

Just weeks ago, Hammond had vowed never to do a death-defying stunt again for the sake of his “beautiful” family.

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In his first crash, while filming for Top Gear, Hammond suffered brain injuries after the Vampire dragster flipped while travelling at 288mph.

The presenter, who made a miraculous recovery, later reported his loss of memory, depression and difficulties with emotional experiences.

During the incident, that occurred over a decade ago, Hammond's helmet embedded itself into the ground with the visor open, forcing soil into his mouth and damaging his left eye.

Speaking out about his 2006 accident to the Radio Times in 2014, Hammond said: "It was a lot to deal with. I had a pretty tricky few years.

(Image: Top Gear/BBC/PA)

"The knock on effects of the injury meant I was susceptible to depression, obsession, compulsion and paranoia, although I wasn’t aware of that at the time. It gave me an unnatural platform from which to observe my own mental state, which was exhausting."

The father-of-two also admitted that he wasn't easy to work with "for a good while".

He said: "The team were very patient. I was difficult on shoots, losing my temper, feeling threatened by everything, very defensive."

What is the Rimac Concept One?

The Rimac Concept One is an electric super car, manufactured by the Croatian firm Rimac Automobili, has a top speed of 355km/h (220mph).

It was not known how fast Hammond’s car was travelling when it crashed.

The 1,224-horsepower vehicle can go from 0-100km/h in just 2.5 seconds.

Hammond was photographed with the car yesterday.

What is the Bergrennen-Hemberg race?

The Bergrennen-Hemberg race is a Swiss mountain race with the 2017 installment held on the weekend of June 10 and June 11.

It is held in the canton of St Gallen through Bachli, Hemberg and St Peterzell.

The track length in 1758m with an average slope through the mountains of 8.94%.

Its steepest vertical rise in 157m while the minimum street width is 5.10m.