Three paratroopers were injured when a stunt supposed to be the highlight of a military parade went disastrously wrong.

One was seriously hurt when he fell into a tree, another refused medical treatment when he hit the pavement and a third fell onto a roof.

The trio were rehearsing for an Independence Day parade in Brazil and were supposed to drift gracefully down to a beach with the national flag fluttering behind them.

But bruising video footage of the drop’s rehearsal shows how it went painfully wrong during the incident a day prior to the celebrations, on Tuesday, 6th August, according to local media reports.

In one piece of footage, a paratrooper can be seen from three different angles as he dramatically crashes to the ground in a busy street in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil during the exercise.

He gracefully glides through the air while sporting a Brazilian flag before suddenly plunging to the ground as onlookers begin to scream.

The paratroopers allegedly lost control of their equipment and were displaced due to strong gusts of wind.

They were meant to land somewhere on a four-kilometre-long beach found in the neighbourhood of Copacabana, made famous by Barry Manilow’s 1978 disco hit of the same title.

Roberto Pereira, 40, a non-commissioned officer in the air force, landed on the busy city street in the neighbourhood of Ipanema in Rio and reportedly refused to be taken to hospital after sustaining minor injuries.

But he was taken away in a military ambulance.

In contrast, Izaquiel Luiz, 35, was gravely wounded after he fell into a tree and was left hanging.

Police reportedly found the injured man lying on the ground and cordoned off the scene.

He was taken to a municipal hospital nearby and is in a serious condition, according to local firefighters.

A third, unnamed man allegedly fell on to a building in the city.

His condition remains unclear.