A fisherman miraculously survived being stranded at sea for six hours by floating inside an old fridge.

Anat Matosot, 33, was fishing alone in a wooden boat near Lao Hang island in Krabi province, southern Thailand, on October 24.

Amid fair weather, he cast his line into the water and waited for fish to take the bait when a huge wave suddenly slammed into his boat and submerged it.

As the vessel began to sink and with no radio onboard, the fisherman crammed himself into the old refrigerator he was using for fish storage and drifted in the middle of the sea, praying for rescue.

Luckily, another fisherman was passing through the area later that day and spotted Anat bobbing up and down along the coast. He pulled him onto his boat and brought him safely back to shore.

A thankful Anat said: 'I'm grateful that I'm still alive, but now my livelihood is gone because I've lost my boat.

'The fridge saved my life. So I will always be thankful that I had that onboard.'

Village chief Somsak Thebbut said he had sent out a team to try to salvage the wooden long-tail boat, but it was already lost to the sea.

He added that he has contacted the local government for assistance in obtaining a new boat for Anat.

Good Samaritans and philanthropists have also given donations to help Anat get back on his feet.