This is the astonishing moment a flying fish leaped onto a boat and snatched a woman's PHONE.

Footage shows the 10-inch-long silver swordfish gliding through the air as two women were on a boat ride off the coast of Leyte province, the Philippines on June 19.

In the blink of an eye, the animal crashed into the handset that was resting on the Neressa Ursal Maquilan's lap. The fish - and the phone - both plunged into the ocean on the other side of the vessel.

Neressa looked down and was confused where the phone had gone, only realising what happened when they watched back a video from their friend who was recording them at the time.

Neressa's relative Cha Ursal, who captured the incident, said: ‘We boarded a boat to the cemetery to pay respect to our departed aunt. What happened was so unexpected.'

Cha added they asked the boat pilot for help, who dived into the water to look for the phone but to no avail.

She said: ‘Later that night, it was low tide. Someone found the phone on the shore and was returned to us. However, it was already broken from the water damage.

‘My cousin's sister-in-law then bought her a new phone. So the incident became a blessing. It's rare for something to happen like this, so we feel special.'