Funny canoe fail

An amusing video has emerged of a boy causing a canoe to sink on a river in New South Wales, Australia.

The footage, captured near Kempsey, shows the child falling backwards into the water, sending his family into fits of laughter.

Fortunately, the boy manages to swim back to the riverbank, soaked but otherwise unharmed.

"We were visiting family near Kempsey NSW for the weekend, Jake took on a dare to have a ... go in a canoe," the filmer wrote online.

"When he realised he was going to sink he started to come back in but his little brother pushed him back out.

"When we played back the video we couldn't figure out what was funnier: the sinking kid in the canoe or the laughing parents in the background."

Although the footage was captured in July, it has only recently emerged online.