Rescue teams waded through deep floods to collect the body of a deceased elderly resident from a swamped house in central Thailand.

Pensioner Samer Buathin, 94, was bedridden for years before passing away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday evening.

Volunteers were called to his flooded home in Singburi today, to take him to a temple for a funeral.

Officers rode a boat to reach the family's stilt home in the In Buri district. They carried his coffin down the steps and placed it in the middle of the vessel.

They then rowed back to the main road, where a pickup truck was waiting to transport the deceased to Wat Ka Rong temple with relatives.

Samer's daughter, Kanchana Lueachang, said he had been unable to eat before the family found him lifeless at 8 pm the previous evening.

She said: His death was not unexpected. We were already prepared as he had long been bedridden due to illness.'

Three other villagers had reportedly died during the chronic flooding, unable to seek immediate medical attention.

Water levels reached up to 13 feet after a flood embankment near the Wat Prasat temple collapsed on November 12, sending torrents rushing into nearby villages.

The flooding was worsened by water discharge from the Chao Phraya Dam.

Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) said today that more than 1.5 million rai (593,052 acres) have been inundated by floods across 10 provinces in central Thailand.

GISTDA said the satellite images collected have been sent to relevant government agencies to help address the situation.

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.