A US news reporter has been praised for his heroism after pulling a pregnant woman from a burning car while on his way to cover a story.

Photojournalist Patrick Perry from Baton Rouge's WBRZ was caught on film pulling a female survivor from the wreckage of a burning vehicle which appeared to have skidded off the road.

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Perry came across the burning vehicle and rushed to help, picking up the 21-year-old woman and carrying her away from the wreckage of the car.

Footage taken by one of Perry's colleagues shows him putting the woman down a safe distance from the fire as another person can be spotted using a mobile phone presumably to alert authorities to the crash.

His colleague at WBRZ, Brittany Weiss, tweeted about the incident, writing: "Witnessed a hero in action today. On our way to a story and @WBRZ's Patrick Perry saves a woman from burning car", also sharing the footage she took on Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 108,000 times.

On Facebook, Weiss wrote: "You cover stories like this but rarely witness a hero first hand."

The crash victim, who is reported to be seven months pregnant, was taken to hospital following the accident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is in a stable condition, with her unborn child uninjured by the crash.