A family from Russia had a lucky escape after a fire in their home forced them to take drastic measures to exit the burning building, a dramatic video has shown.

Parents Elena and Vitaly had no choice but to throw their young children from the balcony of their fifth floor apartment as smoked billowed from the windows, before jumping themselves.

Incredible footage shows a large crowd of people gathered below the burning apartment to catch the family in peril. Amazingly, all four members of the family managed to survive the 60-foot drop from their flat.

A passer-by managed to capture the incident in southern Russia's Vladimir Oblast region on his phone.