This is the heartwarming moment three whale sharks were freed after getting stuck in a fishing trawler's net.

Nawin Manakilsomboon, 33, along with other 40 fishermen were travelling through the Andaman Sea in Phuket, Thailand on Monday (July 8).

While they were anchored in the middle of the ocean, some of the fishermen noticed two huge whale sharks and their baby struggling inside the net.

Footage shows how three brave fishermen dived into the sea before untying the ropes and releasing the first juvenile shark.

The two other marine animals, which were believed to be parents of the baby, were successfully freed a few moments later.

All the fishermen were cheering in relief when they saw the family happily swimming away - despite losing some of their own catch, with hundreds of other fish also being set loose.

Nawin said: ''We felt that the trawling net was very heavy, so some of us jumped down to see what happened and saw the sharks.

''We decided to release them immediately even though we knew that we would lose good fish. Luckily, they didn't get hurt when they got trapped.''