This is the dramatic moment tourists rode a floating pontoon like a rollercoaster during a typhoon onslaught.

A group of holidaymakers and their tour guides braved the wobbly water conditions to board boats at Coral Island in Phuket, Thailand.

Footage captured by Chinese tourist Yomi shows them balancing carefully as the floating platform swayed uncontrollably like a fairground ride on the afternoon of July 20.

They can be seen momentarily stopping on the plastic pontoon, with some sitting on it, before cautiously running toward the boats as waves crash onto the beach.

Yomi said: 'Many people were trapped on the island at that time. I was frightened — it was the first time I felt danger so close to me. The wind was very strong, and trees were being blown down.

'As the weather worsened, we had to take a speedboat to hurry away and cross the pontoon bridge again. Fortunately, there was a crew to support us.'

In neighbouring Vietnam, a tourist boat was capsized by the storm, leaving dozens of passengers dead.

The vessel reportedly overturned after being hit by choppy waves and heavy rain off the coast of Ha Long Bay shortly after 2 pm local time.

Thailand's Meteorological Department issued weather warnings when Wipha was recorded as a strong tropical storm over the northern South China Sea at 10 pm on July 19.

With maximum sustained winds of 93 km/h, the storm moved towards the Gulf of Tonkin and northern Vietnam, where it is expected to weaken into a tropical depression between July 21 and 22.