Given little warning of its approach, the two workers decided to take refuge in a truck to wait for tornado to pass over.
The huge tornado hit the US state of North Dakota on Monday night, injuring nine people and destroying 15 trailers in the oil workers' camp in the area.
Winds from the tornado peaked at 190 km/hr, producing heavy rain and high winds, the National Weather Service said.
Officials said it is rare to see a tornado in the area. Weather data shows the area has only seen 14 tornadoes since 1950, with none resulting in deaths, AP reports.
The area is populated by workers living in camps to work in the nearby oil fields.
With little warning of tornado's approach, workers Dan Yorgason and Adam Schiff fled their camp to take shelter in a truck and film the tornado from close-up.
"The tornado was coming down the hill along our only escape route. There was nowhere for us to go. It was crazy," Dan Yorgason told AP.
Yorgason said he was lucky to survive the encounter.
"I was laughing a lot, but it was not because I thought it was funny. I was panicking," Yorgason told the New York Daily News.
"I knew I had to get out of there. You know how trailer parks are with tornadoes."
The damage caused by the tornado has sparked concerns that more regulation of building structures might be needed, with many of the hastily built structures ill-equipped to withstand the impact of a tornado.
Meterologist Ken Simosko said the growing number of trailer parks in the area increases the risk of death, injury and destruction from tornadoes.
"People living in trailers creates a very dangerous situation because there is no protection," Simosko told USA Today.
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