This is the terrifying moment a giant frisbee ride suddenly broke apart, sending panicked park staff running for cover.

The pendulum-like attraction appeared to be operating normally at first with children and parents onboard in Tagbilaran City, the Philippines.

However, the visitors' excitement turned to horror when the structure gave way mid-swing and crashed to the ground.

Footage shows the gondola hitting a sign before plunging onto the platform below. Worried families screamed while workers backed away.

The circular ride then slammed into the ticket booth below and ripped up its roof before narrowly missing a worker as he cut the power during the incident on April 26.

Nikkie Bumaat, whose relatives were riding the frisbee when it malfunctioned, said they did not know something was wrong until the ride had gained momentum.

She said: 'My cousins and nieces rode around 9:34 pm. They were five kids.

'They asked me to take a video, but we did not expect that would happen.'

Nikkie added that they had been hearing metal scraping sounds but thought it was normal.

She said: 'Every time the frisbee passed by the platform, it kept hitting the ground until it detached. I was so scared for my family.'

The eyewitness said the operator was injured when he was hit by the metal debris, along with another fairground visitors who scraped her leg from the fall.

A frisbee ride is an amusement park attraction where riders are seated in a large, rotating circular gondola that swings back and forth like a pendulum.