Footage has emerged of a group of fishermen forced to dive into a river to escape being crushed by a motorboat bearing down on their small vessel.

The footage mounted inside the fishing boat shows the fishermen frantically waving at the boat as it approaches to get the driver's attention. The incident happened last summer in Oregon, the US.

The fisherman has filed a $372,500 lawsuit against the driver of the boat, who told police he could not see the fishing party as the dash of his boat was blocking his view, according to The Oregonian.

But the suit said that the boat driver was distracted while using his mobile phone when the incident occurred.