2 men and 1 women drown in Phuket beaches over two days
Three people have drowned in Phuket in the past two days, according to Thai media.
Bangkok Post reported that the bodies of two people were washed up on Mai Khao Beach in the northwestern side of Phuket on 17 June. A day earlier, a Russian man drowned at Surin Beach in Phuket’s west coast.
No traces of violence were found on any of the three, and it is suspected they had drowned while swimming due to strong currents.
American man & Thai woman drown in Phuket beach on 17 June
Chief investigator at Tha Chatchai police station Ranaphoum Permpoon said local residents alerted police to two bodies — a man and a woman — that’d washed ashore on Mai Khao Beach in Thalang district on 17 June.
He said the deceased man was identified as James Newman, 45, an American citizen, and the woman was Waranya, 49, a Thai nurse from Surin.
He did not reveal how they were related. The two had checked into a hotel on Mai Khao on Sunday.
Investigators found no traces of assault on them. They believe the two were swimming when one of them was swept by the strong current. They also believe the other tried in vain to help. The strong waves then likely caused both of them to drown.
Bangkok Post reported that the victims were sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy to find out the cause of death.
Meanwhile, 64-year-old Apostolov Aleksei, a Russian national, drowned off Surin beach on Sunday (16 June). He’d stayed at a condominium in Tha Lang.
Source: Facebook via Asean Now
Police found no signs of violence on Aleksei’s body. He was also sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy.
Phuket News reported lifeguards as saying Aleksei had ignored a red “no swimming” flag at Surin Beach prior to his death.
He was unconscious and unresponsive by the time he was brought back to shore.
Another drowning in Phuket 2 weeks earlier
Another American, 49-year-old James Everett DuBois, reportedly drowned off the waters of Nai Harn beach in the southern end of Phuket on 9 June.
Thai Examiner reported that DuBois had been swimming with his Thai wife and 3-and-a-half year old son.
Tragedy struck at around 4.50pm, however, when he was swept away by the waves.
At the time, there was a yellow flag and not a red flag.
DuBois’s wife managed to get out of the water and her son was rescued by lifeguards. However, there was no trace of DuBois.
Bangkok Post later reported that his body washed up ashore two days later on Tuesday (11 June).
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Featured image adapted from Facebook via Asean Now
