Frantic residents fled from an overloaded suspension bridge as it tilted while they watched a river parade below.

The locals were on the hanging bridge while they enjoyed watching the boats during the fluvial parade in Bulacan province, the Philippines when the incident happened on June 23.

However, the old structure, made from wood and cables, shook and tilted as more people gathered on the bridge for the event.

Footage shows the bridge swaying, sending panicked residents running for their lives.

Onlooker Clarizza Cunanan said: ‘Everyone was excited to watch the parade. It had been a while since we were able to hold one because of the pandemic but there were too many people on the bridge. Everyone was running in different directions. It was so scary.'

No one was hurt in the incident but authorities later found out that the bridge's foundation already had cracks due to overloading.

The bridge had been closed and locals were asked to use another route - which would add at least 30 minutes to their travel time - until the structure had been repaired.

Mayor Jessie de Jesus coordinated with the city engineering office to make the repairs as soon as possible.

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands inside the Pacific Ring of Fire where the majority of Earth's volcanoes and earthquakes take place.

Bridges were built to connect its roads and remote villages across the many inland streams and rives but poor planning, maintenance and corruption have led to many of the bridges falling into disrepair. Locals even have to rely on their own handmade wooden structures - or skip bridges and risk their lives by wading through the water.

The Philippines was ranked 117 out of 180 - alongside Algeria, Zambia and Nepal - on Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perception Index.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand were ranked joint first place while South Sudan was at bottom.