Two men sustained severe burn injuries after a fire-breathing performance during a festival procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain went horribly wrong.

The incident took place during the Dol Gyaras procession, where several floats and tableaux were on display. Two youths were performing a fire-breathing act atop a moving vehicle when the mishap occurred.

A video of the incident shows one of the performers filling his mouth with petrol to create a fireball. Instead, the flames suddenly flared back, engulfing both him and another youth standing nearby.

The victims were seen desperately leaping off the vehicle as onlookers rushed to douse the flames. By then, however, both had suffered serious burn injuries.

One of the youths, with nearly 35 per cent burns, was first taken to a local hospital and later shifted to a private facility due to his critical condition.

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