This is the heartwarming moment passing fishermen rescued an endangered sea turtle that was stuck in an old rice sack.

The crew spotted the suffering marine creature paddling on the ocean while tangled up in the big white bag in Krabi province, southern Thailand.

Chaowalit Banrung, 29, recorded his friends taking the hawksbill turtle out of the water to free it from the pollution.

They rushed to help the turtle because it seemed to be injured on one of its fins. They then spent several minutes cutting away the ragged sack.

The 13lbs turtle was later released back into the water while the crew yelled with delight.

Chaowalit said: "We are thrilled that we saved the turtle's life. if we did not see it, I could not imagine how badly it would have suffered.

''It's sad to see how much pollution there is in the ocean now. It is affecting all of the creatures. So because we are fishermen, we want to keep the ocean clean as it is our livelihood.''

The hawksbill sea turtle, or Eretmochelys imbricata, is classed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

They have a slow reproductive rate, which has contributed to their decline in numbers. Other threats come from hunting, ocean pollution and a loss of nesting areas because of coastal development.