The family outing turns into disaster when they pulled up at the scenic beauty spot to enjoy the view of the valley below when the car suddenly started rolling forward.

The man who was the driver climbed out of the car first, and then went to the the other side of the vehicle in order to get a thermos for a drink and is seen sipping when the car suddenly starts to roll forward.

He starts shouting and a young boy flings open the door on the back seat and clambers out, followed by an older woman.

But another woman in the front seat whose holding a cup does not manage to unclip her safety belt and exit the vehicle in time, which then plunges over the edge of the cliff and disappears from view as the rest of her family stare in horror from the top.

The incident happened on the Xinjiang’s Duku Highway and according to the Hejing County Emergency Management Bureau, the woman passenger was trapped inside when it went over the cliff suffered severe hip injuries.

It appears that the man had applied the handbrake as initially the car remains in place, but it looks as if the handbrake either slipped or a cable snapped or if not was knocked free by the woman passenger, because the red sedan suddenly rolls forward and disappears over the edge of the cliff.

The man was shouting for the people to free themselves as he decides to try and stop the car rolling forward rather than leaning in to pull the handbrake, a decision that proved a mistake as it then plunged over the edge.

Commentators noted that the person in the passenger seat continue to hold a cup and did not throw it away or even seemingly attempt to save themselves before plunging over the edge, with many speculating that she must’ve been in shock.