diff --git a/src/datasets/utils/extract.py b/src/datasets/utils/extract.py
index c9d96284e5a..fc3a6abf410 100644
--- a/src/datasets/utils/extract.py
+++ b/src/datasets/utils/extract.py
@@ -439,6 +439,8 @@ def extract(
         # Prevent parallel extractions
         lock_path = str(Path(output_path).with_suffix(".lock"))
         with FileLock(lock_path):
+            if os.path.islink(output_path):
+                os.unlink(output_path)
             shutil.rmtree(output_path, ignore_errors=True)
             extractor = cls.extractors[extractor_format]
             return extractor.extract(input_path, output_path)