A troubled American tourist was rescued after harming himself with a knife in Thailand.

Brian O'Keefe Green, 34, from Texas, sparked panic when he turned a six-inch blade toward himself in infamous tourist city Pattaya, on April 3.

Footage shows the hoodie-wearing holidaymaker reading a bible as he sat on the grassy median strip along a road. After reading several passages from the scriptures, he was said to have grabbed the blade and repeatedly poked his chest and neck.

Horrified onlookers screamed urging him to stop, but he continued plunging the knife into his flesh, soaking the front of his shirt with blood. They alerted police and rescue volunteers, who responded to the scene at 5:06 pm.

Upon arrival, the officers found Brian lying on his back, with the knife sticking out of the ground next to him. A medic swiped the weapon before the team converged on the American to give him first aid. However, he suddenly threw a tantrum and began pounding the ground with his fists in his apparent delirium.

The rescuers managed to subdue Brian when he collapsed on the ground from bleeding. He was strapped onto a stretcher and rushed to a hospital.

A police spokesman said: 'The foreigner's belongings were found in an inspection of the area. He had a bag and several novels by famous authors piled up on the sidewalk, along with identification documents. We have collected them as evidence.

'The American is still being closely monitored. The cause of his outburst is still unknown. We believe it may have been caused by stress. The investigation is ongoing and his relatives will be contacted to provide details.'

Brian was reported to be 'in a coma'.

Onlooker Tippawan Chaisuwan, 63, said she was walking by the area when she noticed Brian pointing the knife at himself.

She said: 'I didn't approach him because I was scared that he would take me hostage. I wanted to help him so I yelled telling him to stop, but he refused to listen. I ran to inform the officers inside a nearby police booth. When they arrived, he was already acting crazy and stabbing himself several times.

'I'm glad the police and rescue workers were able to stop the incident. There was a lot of blood everywhere and I was afraid he would bleed to death.'