This is the dramatic moment pupils stuck in a school bus washed away by raging floods were rescued this morning.

The youngsters were trapped in the vehicle when it tried to drive through a deluge to take them to their classes in Rayong, Thailand, on September 7, shortly before 8am local time.

However, they had a valid reason for being late when the white minivan was pushed onto its side and was half-submerged in the flash floods from pounding tropical storms that battered the region overnight.

Footage shows volunteers pushing the van to higher ground before carrying the children out the driver's window.

Onlooker Maliwan Merit said: 'All the young students were safe. Fortunately, the rescue team responded quickly and took them all out of the vehicle.'

Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, are in the middle of their tropical monsoon rainy season, which lasts from May or June until November.

Soaring temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius are often followed by powerful tropical storms with thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods which cause rivers to flow faster and become dangerous.

This year, meteorologists have blamed climate change for the sustained heavy rain, which has been hitting the Thai capital and provinces around the country causing severe floods for several weeks.

Warnings of strong wind and storms were also issued for regions across the northeast, east, and south. Thailand's Center for Climate Change and Disaster claimed the coming months could see heavier, longer rainfalls, due to 'climate change'.

Local media reported that the country had seen an unusually sustained and persistent rainy season this year.