Three children narrowly escaped being scalded when a waiter almost toppled a cauldron of boiling stew at a packed restaurant.

The incident occurred in the city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in south-western China, on 18th April.

Surveillance footage from a popular terrace restaurant shows a busy dining area where a waiter carrying a huge pot of steaming hot stew loses his balance.

The video captures the moment the staff member stumbles near the children’s table, almost pouring the scalding liquid directly onto them.

In a last-second reaction, the waiter lifts the pot upwards, spilling only a small amount of broth on the ground.

None of the children were injured.

A young woman quickly walks over to check on them, and staff can be seen reacting with concern.

Restaurant owner spills hot pot on himself to avoid scalding running children in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, on 18 April, 2025. He burned his arms and feet. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (AsiaWire/NX)

The footage was shared widely across Chinese social media platforms including Douyin, which is what TikTok is called in China , where it sparked concern about restaurant safety.

User 'Junliu' said: "It’s terrifying how close that was. A second later and those kids could have been in hospital,"

User 'Anxin' added: "This is why children should not be seated near busy staff paths in restaurants."

And 'WeiZhang88' said: "Give credit to that waiter. He saved those kids and probably himself from disaster."

(MJ Leidig/newsX)