CHON BURI - A young woman died and her mother, brother and a young child were injured when their old wooden house, built near a jetty, collapsed into the sea while they were sleeping in Sattahip district in the early hours of Tuesday.
The 62-year-old mother, her son and a grandchild managed to escape before the house sank, but the daughter was trapped inside.
She was rescued, unconscious from the ruins of the house and rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Their home's collapse was reported to Sattahip police about 1.30am on Tusday, Pol Lt Co Phasawat Sirinopphakhun, the chief investigator, said.
The victims were identified as Sirikorn Buasathian, 62, Warinthon Buasathian, 25, Notnicha Buasathian, 6, and Punyanuch Buasathian, 24, who was killed.
Mr Warinthon said he was woken by noises indicating the house was about to collapse. He called out to awaken the other members of the family and warned them to leave the house as soon as possible.
Everyone had managed to get out before it sank into the sea, with some bruises, except for Punyanuch, who was trapped inside, said Mr Warinthon.
The survivors and people who rushed to help managed to pull Punyanuch from the sunken timbers, but she was unconscious by then, Mr Warinthon said.
He tried to resuscitate her before rushing her to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Polic said the house was very old and possibly fell down as a result of the strong waves pounding the coastline. However, they would request the authorities make a formal inspection of the collapsed house to find the exact cause.