Police officers braved a storm to save five fishermen stranded in the sea in Thailand.

The Marine unit's Dolphin Team received a distress signal from fishing boat Por Theppranee 1 when it was hit by a massive tidal wave in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on January 7.

The vessel capsized after being battered by a 13ft-high surge, with captain Kritat Jetjit, 51, calling for help as he was stuck in the middle of the sea with three Thai and a Burmese crew.

Dramatic footage shows severe weather and choppy waters pounding on the officer's boat as they headed to the wreckage.

A marine police officer from Pak Phanang district said: "We finally received the report around 10.30 am, or about eight hours since their boat capsized. The winds were too strong so the officers had some difficulty reaching them".

Before being rescued, passing boats tossed rubber rings and life jackets to the distressed crew which helped them stay afloat for eight hours until the rescuers found them 68km away from shore.

Another clip showed the marine police rescueing a stranded fisherman with the help of a lifeline rope.

The fishermen were given first aid and travelled back to the coast. They suffered from fatigue and chest pain but were uninjured.

The crew was taken to the Pak Phanang Hospital for a health check.

The officer added: "We want to warn fishermen to please refrain from sailing during bad weather and check the announcements from the Thai Meteorological Department".

Police braved a storm to save five fishermen stranded in the sea in Thailand.

The Marine unit's Dolphin Team received a distress signal from fishing boat Por Theppranee 1 when it was hit by a massive tidal wave in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on January 7.

The vessel capsized after being battered by a 13ft-high surge, with captain Kritat Jetjit, 51, calling for help as he was stuck in the middle of the sea with three Thai and a Burmese crew.

Dramatic footage shows severe weather and choppy waters pounding on the officer's boat as they headed to the wreckage.

A marine police officer from Pak Phanang district said: ‘We finally received the report around 10:30 am, or about eight hours since their boat capsized. The winds were too strong so the officers had some difficulty reaching them.'

Before being rescued, passing boats tossed rubber rings and life jackets to the distressed crew which helped them stay afloat for eight hours until the rescuers found them 68km away from shore.

Another clip showed the marine police scooping up a stranded fisherman after a lifeline rope was installed from the rescue vessel to the capsized boat.

The fishermen were given first aid and travelled back to the coast. They suffered from fatigue and chest pain but were uninjured.

The crew were taken to the Pak Phanang Hospital for a health check.

The officer added: ‘We want to warn fishermen to please refrain from sailing during bad weather and check the announcements from the Thai Meteorological Department.'