This is the heroic moment a villager trapped in a dam was rescued in Thailand.

The 30-year-old resident reportedly tried to cross the body of water to reach the next village but was swept away by the swift currents in Nakhon Ratchasima province on April 16.

His neighbours saw him calling for help and contacted the rescuers who arrived to him clinging for survival on a bunch of water lilies.

Footage shows the terrified man holding on to the river plants while wearing an orange lifejacket that the volunteers tossed him.

A rescue volunteer said: ‘The rescue would have happened sooner if there were enough equipment. We had to improvise with whatever we had at the moment.'

‘We took almost 15 minutes to rescue the man. I would like to remind everybody to be careful while playing in the water and also make sure to check the area before getting into it as the consequences can be life-threatening.'

The rescue team arrived at the scene and found that there were strong currents in the dam.

They attempted to make the rescue but due to a lack of equipment the team had to improvise and attached a rope to a life jacket and a plastic gallon bottle.

The volunteers then used a fishing boat and tossed him the rope. The man caught the life vest and swam out from the water plants before being dragged up to safety.