UPDATE 2.45PM: An Otumoetai College student is receiving treatment for facial injuries after he escaped from a vehicle along with a friend moments before it burst into flames in Bellevue this morning.

Emergency services responded to reports of a car crashing into a power transformer on Princess Road in the suburb at around 11.20am.

The crash occured on Princess Road at around 11.20am this morning. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Flames and plumes of black smoke could be seen engulfing the transformer and the early model Holden Commodore, with three fire trucks along with an ambulance and two police cars in attendance.

Tauranga Police Constable Ian Sadler says 'two young males” were in the car when the driver lost control coming down the hill on Princess Road before crashing into the transformer.

Aided by nearby residents, the pair were able to get out of the vehicle before it burst into flames, adds Ian.

The driver was taken to Tauranga Hospital with minor facial injuries while the passenger was uninjured.

It is estimated the car was on fire for about 20 minutes from the time of the crash until PowerCo contractors gave firefighters the all clear to extinguish it.

Mere Kawaha-Brears, pulling into her father's driveway at the time of the crash, says the first thing she heard was the screeching of tyres before the impact of the car hitting the transformer.

'I jumped out of my car to help the boys get out,” she says. 'They were already in the process of getting out and almost instantly the car took alight.

'There was a slight popping but no great explosion. I was expecting it to explode.”

She confirms the pair are Otumoetai College students, wearing seat belts at the time, who 'just made a really poor decision with severe consequences”.

'I definitely think they were speeding but we do get a lot of the college students honing up and down here,” she added.

'It's lucky they impacted in some way because they could have gone off the cliff, then they would have been in a far worse situation if they hadn't. So yeah, a fairly dramatic day for them.”