BANGKOK – A holiday in southern Thailand turned tragic when a Malaysian man lost his pregnant wife and six-year-old daughter to a boat accident on Wednesday.

According to the Bernama news agency, the family of three were on a Poda Island tour in the afternoon when the long-tailed boat carrying them capsized off the coast of Krabi province.

Krabi province governor Passakorn Bunyalak said he believed the boat capsized when it was hit by huge waves. “The family of three and the boat operator were drifting at sea and later rescued by a local fisherman. All of them were brought to shore at Klong Sai Pier and rushed to Krabi Hospital,” he told a press conference.

The Thai boat operator, Mr Sala, 45, survived, along with the Malaysian man, Mr Gan Kah Seng, 38.

But Mr Gan’s wife, Ms Tan Chen Woon, 36, and their young daughter did not, reported The Thaiger newspaper.

Fisherman Warit Changmin, 21, saw them floating in the sea when he was on his way back to Klong Sai Pier due to sudden rain and strong wind, according to The Thaiger. He pulled all four of them onto his boat. The mother and child were unconscious at this point and pronounced dead later.

The police said they would get a statement from the boat operator once he is discharged.