This is the moment a female shopper was rescued after falling into a canal when she stepped of a ferry boat - narrowly avoiding being crushed.

The woman had tried to step off the canal boat with two carrier bags in either hand as it approached a dock near a shopping mall in Bangkok.

But she misjudged the distanced and missed the shore, plunging into the filthy water. Unable to swim, she was flapping around screaming for help.

One man leaped into the water to drag her to safety while others had to desperately push the boat away to prevent it from holding her under the water or crushing her against the side.

Witness Peerapat Sangsuk said: ''I had just stepped off the boat when I heard a loud 'plop' sound. I turned around and saw the woman splashing in the water.

''Sometimes the boat moves very quickly and people go to step off before it has touched the side.

''People were trying to push the boat back because it was drifting towards the side. It was pinning her against the wall. The water was very rough so it was hard.

''When there was enough space, one man was very quick to jump in. He pulled the woman up to keep her head above the water and everybody helped her out.''

The shaken woman emerged unscathed from the incident. She showered in a nearby rest room before being given fresh clothes from a resident. Paramedics took her to hospital to be checked over.