A 92-year-old Barranquilla man was rescued from a raging river thanks to the help of a local police officer and a group of passers-by.

Roberto Blanco's life or death rescue was captured on amateur video, showing the elderly man clinging to a cable as rescuers pulled him to safety from a raging torrent of floodwater.

Police and passers-by had heard Blanco's cries for help as he clung onto a cable under a bridge to stop from being swept away from the churning mass of floodwater.

They stopped vehicles and got a rope to reach Blanco.

Blanco, who collects rubbish from the city's streets for recycling, was reportedly caught up in the fast-flowing floods after he took a nap by the river.

Flood-prone Barranquilla does not have rainwater drainage system with the Caribbean's hurricane season afflicting the coastal town with annual fast-flowing floodwaters.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.