Hair-raising video: Kids climb under train moments before it moves

Video shows teens climbing on active trains Video captured in Fort Langley shows teens climbing onto a train just seconds before it lurches forward. It's a danger narrowly avoided.

Safety advocates are hoping an alarming viral video of B.C. kids climbing underneath a stopped train will encourage parents to talk to their children about the dangers of railway traffic.

The hair-raising Facebook clip shows a string of impatient youths crossing the tracks in Fort Langley on Sunday, despite a blaring bell warning everyone to stay away.

Most of the kids climb over the coupler between cars, but two of them decide to go underneath, passing the wheels just moments before the train suddenly juts forward.

"It was a very dangerous situation," said Kelly Fredrick, the woman who posted the clip. "If that was my child and they were putting themselves in (harm's way) I would be heartbroken."

Fredrick was taking care of her two-year-old daughter when they heard the bells ringing and decided to look outside. She said she was horrified to see kids climbing past the cars, even after someone yelled at them to stay back.

Fredrick said she might have tried to intervene herself if she hadn't been taking care of her toddler.

Instead, she recorded video on her cellphone and posted it on social media, where it has been viewed more than 70,000 times.

Operation Lifesaver, a safety organization that raises awareness about rail accidents, said it hopes parents will talk to their kids about the bad behaviour captured in the clip.

"Climbing over stopped trains or other rail equipment is just a bad idea," said Sarah Mayes, Operation Lifesaver's national director. "As you can see in the video, trains can start moving at any time."

Even worse, Mayes said, there's another set of tracks at the crossing that could have put the youths in even more danger.

"A train could have easily appeared on the second track and obviously the consequences would have been very tragic. The kids in this video were very lucky that they weren't injured – or worse," she said.

Last year, 72 people were killed by trains in Canada, and another 44 were seriously hurt.

Just last month, an eight-year-old girl was left critically injured after being struck by a train in Hamilton, Ont.

Mayes said the main takeaways for anyone when it comes to railway tracks is to always cross at designated crossings, and always heed warning bells when they're ringing.

"If you're at a railway crossing and the warning signals are activated, they're activated for a reason and that's to keep you safe," she said.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith