A fisherman was killed when his boat capsized in rough seas in Thailand.

Pornchai Pandum, 46, was sailing off the coast of Phuket when a large wave overturned his vessel on Monday, June 23.

His friend managed to swim back to shore but he vanished after clinging to the wreckage for around 20 minutes, more than half a mile away from land.

The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 3 dispatched a rescue team after receiving a distress report at 4:10 pm.

Rubber boats, jet skis, and divers scoured the choppy waters but failed to find the missing villager. The search was halted at 9:20 pm due to inclement weather.

Efforts were resumed on Tuesday, when the rescue crew discovered Pornchai's corpse snagged on the roots of mangroves in the Wat Tha Sak area at 11:20 am. He was floating face-down and wearing only a pair of shorts.

Vice Admiral Suwat Donsakul, commander of the Royal Thai Navy's Region 3 Command, said: 'Rescue teams struggled to retrieve the body from the mangrove forest before transporting it by boat to the pier, where the relatives were asked to confirm the identity. They confirmed it was Mr. Ponchai, who had gone missing.

'Thalang Police Station officers and a forensic doctor from Vachira Phuket Hospital examined the body. Since the family raised no suspicions about the cause of death, it was released to them for religious rites.'

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