A Japanese woman was killed and her husband injured after their kayak was hit by a ferry off the coast of Borneo in Malaysia's Sabah state, a police official said Tuesday.

Reiko Tanaka, 60, was kayaking with her husband, Takao, 66, Monday afternoon near Gaya, an island off Kota Kinabalu, when an 18-seat ferry hit the couple, Kota Kinabalu police Deputy Superintendent Peter Umbuas said. The ferry had dropped off passengers at the jetty and was reversing at the time of the accident, Umbuas said. The wife suffered a serious chest injury and died on the spot, he said, while her husband's legs were injured.