Caught on camera: US woman and son fall off train platform

A US woman and her four-year-old son fell off a crowded train platform and onto the tracks in Boston.

Meera Thakrar, 37, who was carrying her son in her arms thought her train had arrived at the MIT/Kendall Square station in Cambridge so she walked off the precipice.

CCTV footage showed the Attleboro resident landing on her child and narrowly avoided the electrified third rail, reported the Associated Press.

The Boston-area commuters reacted instinctively and a few jumped onto the tracks to help them up. Others tried to pull her and her son back up to the platform.

Boston woman and son falls off train platform Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Youtube screengrabs)