An excavator carried a pregnant woman across a river after flash floods destroyed the only bridge on the route to the local hospital.

Footage shows the construction vehicle helping the young woman who was in pain with sudden contractions over the muddy torrents in Lampang province on October 5.

Several other stranded residents were also given a lift to the dry land on the other side of river, which was swollen due to recent heavy rain and flash floods in the region.

Officials in the Mae Phrik district government said they received a report of a woman in late pregnancy suffering from periodic stomach aches, likely about to give birth.

However, the flash flood destroyed the bridge, cutting off access to 150 households, which had only one route to the local town where the hospital was based.

After the water level reduced, they drove a backhoe into the middle of the stream before placing the woman and her husband on the loader bucket. They safely transported them to the opposite side and then took them to the hospital.

Heavy rains have been ravaging northern Thailand in recent weeks. The seasonal downpours have caused severe floods as rivers burst their banks and submerged towns and villages.

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season, which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon, leading to widespread flash floods.