A security guard's quick-thinking actions saved a little boy's life when he pressed the emergency stop button as the child fell onto the train tracks.

Footage shows the three-year-old boy running around the Civil Court Elevated Station in the city of Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, at around 2 pm on January 19.

But just moments later, the child coud be seen falling on the rail tracks as his mum jumped to rescue him from a coming train and bring him back onto the platform.

Terrified passengers rushed to haul both the boy and the woman to safety after witnessing the incident.

However, having seen that the train was merely about a hundred feet away from the two, security guard Vikas Bangar, ran towards the emergency stop button and pressed it, halting the oncoming traffic on the platform.

Pune MetroRail said in a statement: 'Pune Metro Guard, Vikas Bangar, displayed an exemplary presence of mind that saved the life of a three-year-old boy.

'After pressing the button, the train on both tracks stopped before the Civil Court Elevated Station.

'In the meantime, the child and his mother were successfully rescued from the track and reunited with their family.

'Vikas Bangar is being praised by Maha Metro for his exemplary work.'

Indian media revealed that nobody was injured during the incident.