This is the tense moment crew escaped from a tugboat sinking in a fast-flowing river during a period of heavy rain and floods in Thailand.

The crew members were filmed jumping into the Pa Sak river in Ayutthaya province on September 11 after the vessel overturned in the muddy water.

It was reportedly towing a cargo ship when a strong ripple slammed into it and caused it to flip onto its side.

Two people who did not plunge into the river were reportedly rescued by a local tour boat.

Peerathorn Naksuk, Director of the Regional Harbor Branch Office Ayutthaya, said: ‘Nobody has been injured or hurt from the incident. The crew managed to escape safely and received help from the locals.

‘We are still working on the real reason that caused the boat to sink. Relevant agencies have already been informed to stay alert and to provide assistance to those affected.'

A warning buoy has been placed at the site of the accident. Officials said they are drafting a plan to salvage the sunken tugboat from the river bed.

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 has this year seen 'an unusually sustained and persistent rainy season'.