Grand Tour host Richard Hammond injured in crash

The BBC reports that ex-Top Gear host Richard Hammond was airlifted to hospital on Saturday after a crash while filming in Switzerland.

The 47-year-old was on a practice run for a race in an electric car for his new show The Grand Tour.

He was able to get out of the car on his own before it burst into flames, said the show’s media team. They also released photos of the burnt-out sports car.

The wreck of Richard Hammond’s car. Picture: The Grand Tour

Co-host Jeremy Clarkson tweeted it was the “most frightening” accident he had ever seen but Hammond seemed to be “mostly OK”.

It was the biggest crash I've ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK.

— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) June 10, 2017

The show’s statement said: “Richard Hammond was involved in a serious 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.”

He suffered a fractured knee.

He also fell off a motorcycle “many times”, he said, while filming in Mozambique earlier this year, saying he banged his head.

He suffered brain injuries during a crash in 2006 while filming for Top Gear. It landed him in a coma for two weeks.

Car experts James May, left, Jeremy Clarkson, centre, and Richard Hammond formerly of television show Top Gear, attend of photocall at The Dome in Johannesburg, 10 June 2015. Picture: Refilwe Modise