PHUKET: Dangerous surf conditions along Phuket’s west coast have claimed four lives over the past five days after two Indian tourists drowned at Karon Beach yesterday (Aug 1).
With no single beach safety reporting agency on the island, confirmation of the latest two drownings came through separate reports by different hospitals to different police stations, though the two deaths appear to be from the same incident.
Pol Lt Col Chomphunuch Anantayakul of the Patong Police was informed by Patong Hospital at about 8:14pm last night of one of the drowning deaths.
The deceased was identified as a 26-year-old Indian male*, reported to have been a tourist.
According to Lt Col Chomphunuch, the man went swimming in the sea with friends near the Naga Statue, about halfway along Karon Beach, at about 6:30pm.
Two of the group of friends were dragged out to sea by a strong rip current. Friends helped pull them out of the water, but neither of them had any vital signs. The friends began CPR, which they continued until an ambulance arrived, Lt Col Chomphunuch reported,
One of the two men was rushed to Patong Hospital, but later pronounced dead.
Later, at 9pm last night, Pol Capt Art Payayam of the Chalong Police was notified by Chalong Hospital of the drowning death of another Indian man, also pulled from the sea at Karon.
Pol Capt Art said he was informed that a foreign tourist had drowned near the Naga Statue at Karon Beach.
In this report, Karon Municipality lifeguards were reported as performing CPR until an ‘EMS Advance Unit’ arrived and rushed him to Chalong Hospital. The man was later pronounced dead.
The victim was another Indian national who was rescued from the water after being swept away by a wave [sic], Capt Art reported.
The two men drowned together while in the water with fellow nationals, he added.
The two drownings followed a 44-year-old Thai man from Phatthalung disappearing amid large waves at Surin Beach last Sunday. His body was found washed up on rocks about a kilometre away yesterday afternoon.
That drowning followed a Senegalese man drowning at Freedom Beach, south of Patong, last Friday (July 28).
LIfeguards have repeatedly urged all beach-goers to observe lifeguards warnings and any red ‘no swimming’ flags posted on the beach, marking areas where it is too dangerous to enter the water.
* The Phuket News is withholding the names of the two tourists until it has been confirmed that their next of kin have been informed of their deaths.
