A 13-year-old Chinese boy who was spotted with his upper body sticking out of a car sunroof on an expressway died on Sunday (Oct 28) after he crashed into a sign.

The accident took place at about 5pm in Xinyu city in the south-eastern province of Jiangxi, reported Chinese media outlets.

A video shot by a passenger in another car has since made its rounds on social media platforms.

In the video, the boy can be seen with his upper body out of the sunroof as the car travels on the empty expressway.

Passengers in the other car, who were filming, noticed that a low clearance sign was ahead and can be heard joking that the boy could die if he hit it.

However, their banter turned into gasps of horror and shock when the boy actually crashed into the sign and slumped over.

The video later shows the driver of the car he was in making a phone call.

Chinese news portal The Paper.cn reported that the boy died at the scene.

Further investigations are ongoing.

In December last year, a video of a young child in Singapore standing with his body sticking out of a travelling car's sunroof sparked a debate among netizens.

The car was travelling in Bartley Road East towards Tampines on Dec 6.

While some said that there was nothing wrong with the boy enjoying the breeze, others said it was risky behaviour that could injure the boy.