Six fishermen were rescued after their boat sank in a storm off the coast of Thailand on Sunday.

The fishermen, two Thai men and four Cambodian men, were trawling for squid on the 'Chok Charoen Waree' vessel when they were hit by a powerful storm at around 3 PM off the coast of Rayong in the east of the country.

The storm caused the boat to sink and the fishermen were forced to jump overboard to float in the open sea.

They drifted for several hours in rough waters before they were rescued by a nearby fishing boat, the Chok Thida Thong.

The Muang Rayong Police Station received a report of the rescue at around 9:30 pm.

The Chok Thida Thong brought the fishermen to the pier in Rayong, where they were taken to Rayong Hospital for treatment. The fishermen were all in good condition and were discharged from the hospital after a few hours.

Wanchai Krutarun, 53, captain of the Chok Charoen Waree, said: 'We were fishing between the islands of Koh Chuang and Koh Jan when the storm struck in the afternoon. We had to abandon the boat, otherwise we all would have sunk with it.'

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are approaching their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.