This is the moment a runaway pickup truck careers down a ramp, nearly hitting a fisherman, before it sinks in the river just seconds after its occupants manage to escape.

CCTV cameras caught the incident unfold on the Xingu River in the Brazilian city of Altamira on the afternoon of 14th June.

The footage shows how the pickup truck careers down a ramp at the port and heads straight for a fisherman, who is seen standing in the water alongside his boat.

The fisherman has to run into the river to avoid the vehicle, which smashes into his boat and then immediately starts to sink.

Workers immediately dive into the water to rescue the vehicle’s occupants in the seconds before it disappears under the water’s surface.

According to news site Portal CM7, both the fisherman and the car’s occupants – a man, a woman and two children whose ages are unknown – escaped unscathed.

Three of the vehicle’s occupants managed to escape through the doors. However, the last occupant had to break a window to get out of the sinking vehicle in the nick of time.

According to Portal CM7, the vehicle’s driver had parked close to the ramp to buy a ticket for the ferry – seen in the footage – to cross the river.

It was then that the car started rolling down the ramp with the four passengers – who were waiting for the driver to return – still inside.

Not only did all involved have a lucky escape, but the port workers also managed to retrieve the vehicle hours later.