Shock discovery as child goes through train station security X-ray

Security staff at a Chinese train station were caught by surprise when they saw the image of a child on their monitor last week.

A boy reportedly crawled into an X-ray machine when his father was not paying attention at a station in Zhongshan, southern China's Guangdong Province.

After the father passed the body scan, he couldn't find his son. As he started looking for the child, he was stunned to see the boy climbing out from the other side of the X-ray machine, according to the Daily Mail.

Surveillance footage shows the father bringing his son into the station in the city of Zhongshan. Photo / Guangzhou Railway Police

The incident took place at the Xiaolan station at the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway on October 9, according to Guangzhou Daily.

The newspaper also published a surveillance video which captures the unusual incident.

Guangzhou Railway Police released an X-ray picture which apparently shows the child inside the machine.

The clip shows the father and son did not bring any luggage with them.

Neither the boy's father nor the train station staff appeared to be paying attention to the child when his father was being checked by a worker.

Chinese railway staff were stunned to see the image of a child on their monitor on October 9. Photo / Guangzhou Railway Police

After the boy jumped off the X-ray machine, the father talked to a security worker briefly before leaving the station with the child.

The police have urged parents to take extra care of their children while going through security check after the incident.

A similar incident took place this February also in Guangdong Province.

The boy's father who is looking for him finds the child at the other side of the machine. Photo / Guangzhou Railway Police

A female passenger insisted that she climb into an X-ray machine with her handbag at a train station in Dongguan because she feared it might be stolen otherwise.

Security staff were shocked to see the silhouette of a woman as they monitored the X-ray screens.

X-rays are a type of radiation that can pass through the human body. They are mainly used for medical purposes and are often carried out on one part of the body.

A female passenger also climbed into an X-ray machine at a station in China earlier this year.

According to NHS, being exposed to X-rays carries a 'small' risk of causing cancer 'many years or decades later'.

An X-ray of one's chest, limbs or teeth is equivalent to a few days' worth of background radiation, and has less than a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of causing cancer, said NHS.