An Indian woman and her two children narrowly escaped death when a train ran over the trio after they fell onto a train track.

The woman is seen crouching protectively over her little ones as the train whizzes over them, in a viral social media video of the incident on Dec 23 in the east Indian state of Bihar.

Indian media reported that the woman, who was not named, and her family had arrived at the Barh railway station to board a train to Delhi.

A large group of people began shoving one another as they boarded the train, and the woman and her children were pushed off the platform onto the tracks below.

Some people tried to save the family but before they could haul the woman and her two children to safety, the train began to move.

The woman instinctively crouched over her children to shield them from harm as the train sped over them.

Immediately after the train passed, frantic onlookers, who had watched the incident in horror, immediately jumped onto the track to rescue the trio.

NDTV reported that the woman’s husband, who was on the train and separated from his family during the earlier commotion, immediately got off the train and ran back to the station.

The woman and her children were rushed to the hospital, where officials said they escaped unhurt.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.