A raft carrying a patient and medics was swept away by a river during a storm in the Philippines.

The bamboo vessel was used by local clinic staff to transfer a sick resident to a bigger hospital when they were struck by strong currents on the way in Aklan province on December 22.

Footage shows the residents struggling to push the makeshift boat back to the banks, but the surge was too strong and carried them away.

Their neighbours raced with the currents to reach them at a spot where there was a curve and tried to grab them to safety.

Neighbour Jorge Zorilla said: 'There was a rope tied to the raft at first, but it broke, so they were swept further away. We called the rescuers who arrived to help us with the rescue operation.'

The local rescue team later arrived with a rubber boat to assist.

The shear line and the trough of a tropical depression brought widespread rains across the Philippines last week.