This is the heroic moment a crowd on the beach worked together to rescue a parasail rider who risked being blown out to sea amid sudden gusts.

The video showing the malfunctioning parachute was recorded on a beach in Sanya, on the island of Hainan in China on May 2.

The parachute, secured by a rope above the beach, was swept out to sea after the wind became too strong for the device to be winched back in during the incident

However other beachgoers rushed over and grabbed the rope and put their weight on it to bring the parachute back down to the ground, before eventually gathering the parasailist themselves and bringing them back down to safety.

Onlooker Ms Wang said: 'The weather at the beach suddenly changed, and the parachute that had been flown up before could not come down.

'At that time, some tourists immediately organised themselves when they saw it and quickly rescued the tourists.'