ECKELSON, N.D. (AP) — Authorities say a 4-year-old boy escaped serious injury after he was struck by a train while standing on a railroad track in eastern North Dakota.

The accident happened Thursday afternoon in Eckelson, about 20 miles west of Valley City. The Barnes County Sheriff’s office says the engineer applied the emergency brake to slow down the train before it struck the boy and threw him into the ditch. The train was carrying empty coal cars.

The child was airlifted to a Fargo hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

The incident remains under investigation.