This is the moment a daring driver of an excavator drives his vehicle across an overflowing stream in a mountain to rescue a group of villagers.

As the stranded villagers climb into his bucket, he manages to drive back to safety.

The current is powerful enough to sweep away the excavator down a cliff.

The incident took place in Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India, on July 1.

The stranded men were returning to their village in a bus when a rivulet started overflowing due to heavy rains. They were forced to get down and wait for the current to subside.

It was then they requested an excavator driver, who was clearing the road nearby, to help them cross the rivulet. The man obliged and undertook the daring mission.

But local residents and media slammed the driver for risking people’s lives and the government for its indifference.

Rakesh Sharma, 34, a resident of nearby Chamba, said: “There are many places in this district which turn as dangerous as this during monsoons.”

“People have demanded that all-weather bridges be built in these spots but the government has failed to respond.”

Local officials disowned any responsibility for the incident.

Ashish Semwal, an official of National Disaster Management Authority, Chamba, said the video had been heavily edited and is not from Bharmour. “The incident never took place here,” he said.