A nerve-racking video showing a family of otters trying to cross the busy Orchard Road outside of Plaza Singapura has been put up on Facebook on Jan. 24, 2020.

The incident took place along the busy road with the otters gathered at the pavement opposite the entrance of the Istana on Friday, Jan. 22 at about 5pm.

The otters, which were squeaking, were repeatedly trying to make their way across the four-lane road, which was experiencing moderate traffic at that time.

At least two otters tried leading the pack to make a run for it across the road, but they turned around at the last second as vehicles approached and cut off their path.

The presence of the large otter family forced vehicles travelling along the road at that time to slow down or change lanes to avoid hitting the animals.

Located at blind spot

As the otters made their way across the road gingerly, they were not completely visible to motorists in approaching vehicles on left-most lanes as the animals were located at a blind spot.

The heart-stopping moment occurred when the pack leader was almost done crossing the four-lane road and a speeding taxi braked in time to avoid running the creatures over.

This occurred within seconds after the pack leader took the chance to make a run for it when there was a split-second lull in traffic.

Onlookers at the side of the road could only look on helplessly.

There were at least 14 otters in the group.

The video ended with the otters safely at the grass patch outside of the Istana.