PHUKET: A foreign man was rushed to the hospital at around 9pm this evening (July 7) after jumping from the roof of the main chedi at Wat Chalong temple in Phuket.
The foreign man on the roof of the chedi on July 7 night. Photo: NBT Phuket
UPDATE: At around 10pm on July 7, PR Phuket published an update identifying the man as a 35-year-old Russian national. Name was not revealed. Nothing was said about the injuries he had sustained.
The man was spotted on the roof of the chedi at around 5.30pm, according to a report by NBT Phuket cited by the Phuket provincial office of the Public Relations Department of Thailand.
Having been notified of the incident, police officers, rescue workers, and medical personal rushed to the scene. Dozens of onlookers did the same while even more tuned in to a live broadcast in social media. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew was among the onlookers.
Despite hours of efforts to persuade the man to come down, the foreigner remained on the roof of the sacred building prompting rescue workers to take physical actions. By that time an air cushion (inflatabel rescue airbag) was placed by the northeastern corner of the chedi, where the man was still sitting dozens of meters above the ground.
At around 8.40pm, while rescue workers were attempting to restrain him on the roof, the man jumped down from the roof of the chedi. He landed on the safety trampoline.
Rescue workers rushed him on a stretcher through the internal chambers of the chedi and loaded him into an ambulance. The ambulance then sped off to an undisclosed hospital.
As of 9.30pm, Phuket officials have not made any statements regarding the incident or revealed the man’s identity. It was not know what injuries the foreigner sustained as a result of his jump.
