This is the moment a freight train smashes into an elderly man’s car and narrowly misses him after he stopped on a level crossing and tried to lift the barrier by hand.

The incident was filmed by a CCTV camera in the village of Kizilca in the northern Turkish province of Amasya.

According to the news site TRT Haber, the man, name not reported, tried to pass through the level crossing while the barriers were down and the red lights were flashing.

However, while trying to lift the barrier by hand, his stationary vehicle was hit by a freight train travelling at high speed along the tracks.

Apparently unaware that the train was coming, the man narrowly escaped being killed or seriously injured.

In the footage, the driver is seen easily passing the barrier on one side of the tracks before stopping at the other barrier, which is obstructing his path across the railway line.

The man gets out of his car and starts to lift the barrier by hand before noticing a train hurtling towards him at the last moment.

He moves away from the barrier just as the train smashes into his car and stands to the side until it passes.

The man then starts to walk in the direction where his car was dragged by the train.

It is unclear if the local authorities are looking into the incident.