A powerful waterspout led to one of the boats being blown ferociously and turned upside down
The boat was among dozens on the lake surface as event goers observed the two-day Qingming Festival, which is also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival.
Video footage taken from a one of the small boats shows the surface of the lake at Beijing's Beihai Park filled with several of the four-seater vessels.
The woman filming the incident can be heard saying 'that's beautiful' as she captured a small weather phenomenon - which local reports suggested was a small waterspout - manifested itself in the form of miniature tornado-like winds on the lake's surface.
The awe soon turns into shock and panic, however, after the swirling winds pick up the tiny motorboat and cause it to capsize, tossing the passengers into the lake in the process.
In the video, the boat can be seen left sinking on its side as the same strong winds rush towards the person recording, causing more screams.
The emotions of the witnesses are summed up by two women on the boat, one of whom yells 'someone save them', while the other screams 'let's get the hell out of here.'
Fortunately, no-one was injured during the incident, reports said.
Park officials said that more than one million visitors were expected during the short two-day national holiday.
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