This is the heroic moment volunteers dived into a swollen river to rescue a Chinese tourist stranded on a bridge during high floods in Thailand.

The holidaymaker was trapped on a pier of the bridge after slipping from its deck after a storm in Nakhon Ratchasima province on October 1.

He was found by emergency services on the structure some 400 metres away from a restaurant where he was having dinner with his friends.

The rescuers, braving the strong currents, dived into the raging deluge to hand the Chinese man a life vest before helping him climb down and hauling him to safety on the banks of the Lam Ta Khong river. The operation took roughly 15 minutes.

Local media reported that continuous rains upstream at the nearby Khao Yai National Park had run off into the river and caused it to rise.

The tourist's friend said they had come in a large group to eat at the River Curve restaurant that night before the man went missing.

He said: 'He went to smoke cigarettes on the balcony but never returned. We searched for him and found him under the bridge.

'We believe he might have slipped from the balcony and fallen into the water. Luckily, he's alright.'

The incident comes days after typhoon Noru pummeled northern Thailand with heavy rain, causing severe floods in the northeast and central regions.

Typhoon Noru made landfall in Vietnam last Wednesday and weakened to a tropical depression as it moved into Thailand on Thursday, September 29.

One person in Thailand's Sisaket province died when powerful winds knocked a tree onto a pickup truck, injuring two others inside.

While in the Philippines, where Noru first struck, at least 10 people were killed and an estimated 50,000 displaced by the severe weather.