Incredible footage shows elderly couple being rescued from car after it crashed into canal and began sinking

Dramatic footage shows how an elderly couple were rescued from a car that had crashed into a canal in New York and started sink.

Seven people jumped into the water in Long Island to save the pair in a heroic effort that was captured on security video.

The good Samaritans pulled 78-year-old Joseph Abitabile to safety while rescue workers broke a window to free his wife.

She was unconscious in the passenger seat.

An off-duty police officer performed CPR on 76-year-old Delores Abitabile and was able to restore her pulse and breathing, police said.

The Abitabiles were taken to hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

The daring rescue happened at around 12.10pm local time near the Venetian Promenade and Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst.

The video shows the Abitabiles' 2004 Mercury crashing through a fence into the canal, followed by several people running to help as the car starts to submerge.

Police said Mr Abitabile lost control while driving eastbound on Montauk Highway when the couple's vehicle was struck by another car.

The other vehicle was a 2016 Subaru whose 85-year-old driver backed up into traffic after getting into a minor collision, officers said.

That man was also taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, along with several people involved in the rescue.