At least 15 students were injured when a steel hanging bridge collapsed while they were crossing.

The youngsters were walking over the Manito Bridge connecting two villages separated by the Camanitohan River to watch the view of the Mayon Volcano when it snapped in Albay, the Philippines, on April 17.

Footage shows local officers surveying the broken white bridge that was 200 metres long and stood 10ft high a day after it sent kids down into the river.

Nikki Daen, one of the 15 who were hurt, said: ‘We heard something cracked, and we fell. I drank water and almost drowned.'

The students sustained cuts and bruises but none of them were seriously hurt. They were given first-aid treatment by medics.

Mark Anthony Arizapa of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRMMO) said the bridge ‘might have collapsed due to its old age and the volume of people using it'.

Meanwhile, local officials said they have deployed boats to help residents with transportation and are now building a temporary bamboo bridge.