Two tourists from Vietnam -- a woman and her daughter -- drowned while swimming in the sea off Naithon beach on Phuket Island, Thailand on Sunday morning, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand.

The victims were a woman born in 1970 and her daughter born in 2006, who resided in Dong Da District, Hanoi. 

They came to Phuket with their relatives to meet business partners and travel.

The drowning incident was reported to police captain Suporn Muangkhai, an investigator at Sakhu police station, by rescuers at about 7:15 am, according to the Bangkok Post.

Police went to the scene to investigate and learned that three Vietnamese tourists, who were staying at the Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach, went swimming off Naithon beach, ignoring red flags erected along it to warn tourists not to enter the sea at the time due to strong winds and high waves.

The mother and her daughter were swept away by high waves about 20 meters from the shore. 

Rescuers entered the water and brought them ashore. 

They performed CPR on the two, who were unconscious, and rushed them to Thalang Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The other Vietnamese tourist was safe.

Police sent their bodies to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy and notified the Vietnamese Embassy of the incident.

Le Trung Kien, the official in charge of citizen protection at the embassy, said the agency is coordinating with local authorities in issuing necessary documents to the victims’ family members, assisting them in procedures to repatriate their bodies as soon as possible.

The embassy also recommends Vietnamese citizens make contact via the hotline 66 898966653 or directly come to its office at 83/1 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 if they need urgent assistance in Thailand.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!