This is the dramatic moment six hero schoolboys formed a human chain to save a wheelchair-using Buddhist monk who fell into a canal.

The youngsters were lining up for routine bag inspection at the school gates when they noticed the monk plunge into the nearby waterway in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

CCTV footage shows the amputee monk, Phra Wichai, 57, rolling his wheelchair along the edge of the road before tumbling down the canal embankment.

While motorists ignored the desperate monk, the youngsters did not think twice to put their own lives at risk.

The schoolboys rushed over and formed a human chain as they reached the hapless ascetic, seen in the video soaking in chest-deep water.

They lifted the drenched Phra Wichai back onto the road and took him back to the temple to have his wounds cleaned.

He suffered cuts on his right knee, face and forehead and was taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Speaking at the Wat Masong temple on July 1, he said: 'I'm diabetic and had my left leg amputated below the knee last May. Yesterday, I was sitting in my electric wheelchair collecting alms along Khlong Masong canal.

'As I approached the area in front of the school, I moved closer to the left side of the road to avoid traffic, but the left wheel slipped off the edge and I fell into the canal. Fortunately, some pupils came to help me out.

'My wounds weren't too serious, but my electric wheelchair, which costs 12,000 baht, is probably unusable now. So I have to borrow another wheelchair to continue making alms rounds.'

His sister, Ratchada, 52, said she only found out about the accident when he called to ask her for help cleaning his wounds.

She said: 'After hearing the news, I went to visit him and told him not to go out for rounds anymore. I want him to recover first before going outside again.

'He was ordained in 2010, when our mother was dying of illness. He himself is not very healthy, so I often stop by to check on him.'

One of the hero schoolboys, Theeradej Winit, 14, said they were heading to class when they heard a frantic local screaming about a monk drowning.

He said: 'We rushed over to help with the rescue. The monk had injuries on his mouth and knees. I'm happy that I was able to save someone in need and I'll keep doing so whenever I can.'

School director Kriangkrai said the young Good Samaritans were all leaders who were part of the school's student council.

He said: 'I am proud of the students. They did not hesitate to fulfil their duties to community and society just as the school taught them.'