This is the shocking moment a driver carrying four children tried to outrun an oncoming train - which smashed into them on a level crossing.

The silver Ford Ranger overtook waiting vehicles and drove over the tracks on a dirt road on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 19.

Seconds later a freight train that was thundering along the line ploughed into the vehicle as horrified drivers watched.

The pickup truck was dragged more than 30 metres before being tossed onto a grass bank next to a pond as the train came to a stop.

Miraculously, the mother, another woman, three young boys and a young girl all emerged shaken but unscathed from the wreckage.

The family were seen moments after the crash calmly climbing out of the mangled vehicle as locals rushed to check on them.

Video of the collision was captured by a motorist who was recording the train approach the crossing, which had no barriers or warning lights.

He said: ''There were no deaths. They were not even hurt. They were lucky. I could not believe what I saw when they drove onto the tracks. Everybody could see a train was coming.

"I saw the pickup truck overtake the queue and thought they just wanted to get to the front and that they would be waiting until all carriages had passed, but the accident happened because of their haste."

The train driver tried to stop but it was too late as the car was already much too close. He slammed on the breaks and the car was pushed aside onto the grass as the locomotive stopped alongside them.

Residents from a nearby village gathered at the scene to help the family, who had to tow away their wrecked car later that evening.

Railway line crossings on dust tracks without any gates, barriers or warning systems are seen widely throughout rural areas of Cambodia.