A girl rescued her younger brother from a car that was crushed in a traffic accident in which their mother died, the website of Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The accident happened at around noon on Saturday when the family of four was in their car on a high-speed road from Beijing to Kunming, Yunnan province, the report said, adding the Toyota sedan was licensed in Shanxi province.

The family's car was sandwiched between two trucks, after the brakes of a truck filled with coal failed and the truck went out of control on a section of the road in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, the report said.

The mother, who was driving, died in the accident and her husband suffered head injuries, according to the report.

Their 7-year-old daughter succeeded in escaping from the seriously damaged car and then rescued her 3-year-old brother, the report said, adding the two children received only minor injuries.

The road was blocked for about three hours after the accident, the report added.