This is the dramatic moment a hero elephant rescued tourists stranded in a swollen river after heavy rain in Thailand.

Video shows the male jumbo named Valentine wading through the treacherous waters to reach the group whose raft capsized while floating down the Taeng River in Chiang Mai province on June 28.

The tourists were clinging onto a small tree in the middle of the river to keep from being swept away by the powerful current before they were carried one by one back to dry land.

Phra Kru Odd, an elephant conservation advocate and monk from the Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan temple, said he saw the trapped tourists while on his way to visit elephants at Ban Chang Saen village.

He then called a local mahout team for help. They quickly jumped onto 14-year-old Valentine and walked through the torrents.

He said: 'If Valentine had struggled with the current, there were two other elephants, Saentap and Khunsaen, on standby to divert the flow and create a safer path for Valentine.

'Valentine used to be a show elephant working for food until Covid-19 forced him to reside near a crematorium at a temple several years ago before being adopted by the mahout team.'

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are at the start of their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms. The rudimentary infrastructure often struggles with the deluge, leading to widespread flash floods.

The country has around 4,000 elephants in captivity. Some live in rescue sanctuaries while others still work in commercial logging, the tourist industry or the Buddhist religious industry.