Dramatic footage has been released showing the moment a helicopter rescued 22 crew members from a Cypriot cargo ship after it ran aground off a Greek island on Wednesday.

The video which was released by the Greek Coast Guard, shows 11 of the 22 crew members of the MV Goodfaith being airlifted to safety by the Greek Air Force after it ran into trouble off the Greek island of Andros in the Aegean Sea.

The remaining 11 crew members were helped to climb ashore by local firefighters. The MV Goodfaith was travelling empty from Athens to Odessa in the Ukraine when it found itself drifting towards the rocky coastline.

The crew issued a distress signal to the Hellenic Coast Guard early on Wednesday morning, saying that strong winds had meant they unable to prevent the 16,000 tonne ship from avoiding the rocks.

A helicopter was then deployed to help the crew members to safety.

No injuries were reported.

On Thursday, the ship remained trapped by the rocks as three tug boats, as well as navy ships and an oil spill response vessel were sent to try and salvage the ship in unfavourable weather conditions.