A 32-year-old Lao national was killed after a lift car fell on him inside an abandoned hotel in Pattaya, Chonburi, on 9 June 2026. Emergency services, forensic officers and police were called to the former four-star hotel on Soi Yume, after receiving a report that a person had been trapped beneath a falling lift.
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The abandoned hotel, which has more than 300 rooms, has remained vacant since closing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators found the lift car at ground-floor level inside a five-storey section of the building. Beneath it was the body of the victim, identified from documents found in a black shoulder bag as Mr Kanthawisak Wongphuthon, 32, from Laos.
Police said the victim’s right wrist was visible beneath the lift, while his head was submerged in standing water at the bottom of the lift shaft. His neck and lower body had been crushed beneath the lift car. Rescue workers used heavy lifting equipment to raise the lift, which weighed at least 500 kilograms, and it took more than two hours to recover the body.
A preliminary examination found that the victim had suffered a broken neck and severe crushing injuries. Officers from Pattaya City Police Station, led by Pol. Lt. Col. Itthikon Saikrathok, and forensic investigators from Chonburi Crime Scene Investigation Unit 2 examined the scene.
Rescuers said an anonymous caller had reported the incident to the Sawang Boriboon Foundation emergency centre. However, when operators attempted to call back, the person did not answer. Upon arrival, no one was present at the scene and volunteers only discovered the victim after searching the lift shaft.
Local residents told police that the deceased had been living inside the abandoned hotel with a friend described as a dark-skinned man with closely cropped hair. The friend was not found at the scene and has since disappeared. Police are attempting to locate him for questioning as a potential witness.
The hotel caretaker said the property has been left derelict for years and is frequently occupied by squatters and homeless people. He stated that items had repeatedly been stolen from the building and that the lift had never been removed despite the hotel’s closure.
Investigators have not yet determined the exact cause of the incident. A preliminary theory suggests the victim may have entered the flooded pit beneath the lift, possibly to bathe and inadvertently disturbed the ageing mechanism.
Amarin reported that police noted that the lift cables remained intact, although the equipment was in a severely deteriorated condition. Police and forensic officers are continuing their investigation and will examine all evidence before determining the cause of the fatal incident.
Pictures courtesy of Amarin
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Adapted by ASEAN Now Amarin 10 June 2026
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