This is the moment a police helicopter in Texas rescues two stranded fishermen after their boat became stuck on a sand bank and began to sink into it.

The incident took place on a river area of the Lake Amistad reservoir, near the city of Del Rio, which is located in the southern US state of Texas, on Saturday 4th December.

In the footage, two people can be seen in a motorboat that has become stranded on a large sand bank, into which it had begun sinking.

The footage, which was shot from a helicopter, shows a second chopper approaching the stricken vessel.

A rescuer can be seen dangling from a rope, having been lowered from the helicopter. The rescuer can be seen attaching himself to one of the fishermen before both men are hoisted up to the helicopter.

The helicopter moves away from the stranded boat and can then be seen lowering the rescuer and the rescued fisherman back down to earth and dry land, near a waiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens pickup truck with its lights flashing.

The footage then shows the rescuer, from the San Antonio Police Department’s EAGLE unit, being lowered down to the stricken vessel again to rescue the second stranded fisherman.

The rescuer attaches the man to his harness and both are then hoisted up to the helicopter, which again pulls away from the stranded motorboat and takes the second man to safety, dropping him off at the same location as the first man as the footage ends.

The footage was shared by the Texas Department of Public Safety and they released a statement saying: “After two local fishermen found themselves stranded, DPS and San Antonio Police sprung in to action to rescue the two stranded boaters.

“DPS and our partner agencies practice and work alongside each other for these types of missions all the time, and although this particular team wasn’t familiar with the terrain in South Texas, their training prepared them to act quickly and help the fishermen in need.”

Sergeant Steve Tippett of the DPS Dive Recovery Team said: “We’re constantly doing cross-training with other agencies, which enable us to perform these types of missions.”

Multiple attempts to rescue the two stranded fishermen had been made by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens and others, which involved multiple boats being deployed in ultimately unsuccessful attempts to rescue them. The police helicopter was deployed as evening approached.

It is currently unclear if either of the two fishermen, who have not been named, required any medical treatment. It is currently unclear how or when the stricken motorboat will be removed from the sandbank.