PHUKET: A 52-year-old Russian tourist has died after authorities confirmed he drowned early ths morning (May 27) in rough waters off Patong Beach.
Maj. Chayakorn Tangsakul of Patong Police Station was notified of the incident around 7:45am this morning after a group noticed the man’s lifeless body had washed up on the shore.
Maj. Chayakorn notified the Patong branch of the Phuket Charity Resuscitation Unit who went to the scene and found the Russian man’s body. He was declared dead at the scene and his body was taken to Patong Hospital for further examination.
Apparently he had been swimming in the sea but, due to the very challenging conditions at the time, became disoriented and ultimately drowned.
It was confirmed by authorities that the man’s wife was on the shore when the incident occurred and had watched her husband drown. It was not confirmed whether any lifeguards were on duty at the time.
The couple had been staying at an unnamed hotel in Patong and had gone down to the beach early to enjoy the surf, despite heavy weather conditions making it dangerous.
Police confirmed they needed to talk to the dead man’s wife further to get a thorough understanding of what happened although stated it looked like a genuine accident.
They would also liaise with the Russian Embassy to make arrangements to have the deceased man’s body flown back to his homeland for funeral rituals in due course.
The incident comes as the Southern Meteorological Department issued a warning for heavy rain on the west coast of the island over the next few days. A southwestern monsoon building over the Andaman Sea, which is being impacted by typhoon “Mawar” in the eastern part of the Philippines, is expected to bring a heavy down pour and stormy conditions to the island. Strong winds will bring waves between 2 and 3 metres high and, as such, authorities issued a warning to restrict small boats taking to sea.
As well as Phuket, people in nearby provinces such as Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun have been urged to take care and necessary precautions in regards to the heavy incoming weather and to keep abreast of further announcements from the Southern Meteorological Center on the west coast in due course.
– The Phuket News has declined to release the name of the deceased Russian man to ensure his family have been notified first –
