A British tourist has been found dead in a Phuket storm drain just days after arriving for a holiday in Thailand.
Relatives told local police that the man, believed to be a 37-year-old from Wiltshire, went missing at 10pm on Tuesday, and that they had been unable to contact him since. The tourist had only just arrived in the country, having touched down on November 17, and had gone missing following a night out just two days later.
His remains were discovered by horrified locals, who saw his body lying face down in a storm drain at around 9am. A source told Asia Pacific: “[He] was with his family. He arrived in Phuket on November 17 and was staying at Seaview Hotel in the Patong area. We had not been able to contact him since about 10 pm on Tuesday night.”
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Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress)
Police pronounced the tourist dead at the scene after his body was found on Wednesday, and have since launched an investigation. Pictures show a team of investigators crowding around a sunny Thai street and looking over a railing into a storm runoff drain behind railings where the remains were discovered.
Local Police Captain Phongsathorn estimated the tourist had been dead for between five and six hours when he was found in the storm drain, and added an autopsy would be carried out that would clarify his cause of death. He said: “We have sent the tourist’s body to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a thorough autopsy to determine the cause of death before handing it over to his family for religious ceremonies.”
“We have checked the security camera and found no one assaulted him. He walked into the drainage ditch by himself at around 4 am and did not tell his family. I received a report from a resident about the body discovery before informing his family. Currently, we have to investigate further to determine the cause, while I don’t know when the autopsy will be completed.”
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Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress)
The body is the second of a British citizen found in a Thai drain this year, with 31-year-old Theo Bailey’s remains found in a shallow drainage ditch outside a bar on Koh Tao Island several months earlier. He is believed to have gotten drunk with his girlfriend, Chantal Xerri, before he was found lifeless on March 18.
Thai police said at the time that they were awaiting post-mortem results before releasing any further information on the discovery, with devastated Chantal memorialising her ex-boyfriend of 10 years in a heartbreaking social media post in which she said she would spend “the rest of my life” missing him.
She said: “This is probably the hardest post I will ever have to do in my life. Last week, my best friend became an angel. Theo, having you in my life for 10 years will never be long enough. I will spend the rest of my life missing you and you will forever have my heart. Thank you for all the amazing and silly memories we have together. I miss you and I love you.”
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