Authorities in Phuket are investigating the death of a British tourist whose body was discovered in a drainage ditch opposite Patong Hospital on Pra Metha Road. The tragic incident was reported to the Patong Police by locals who spotted the body early morning on 20 November.

 

Police Sub-Lieutenant Phongsathorn Phothong, on duty at the time, received the report and coordinated with forensic medical staff from Vachira Phuket Hospital, as well as Patong Police Station Chief Police Colonel Chalermchai Hoernsawat, and the investigative team to examine the scene.

 

Upon arrival, officers cordoned off the area and inspected the site. The drainage ditch, located on the pavement and secured with a 1 metre high steel railing, contained the body of a male. The body was floating in the water, and initial identification efforts failed to confirm the individual’s identity or nationality.

 

Rescue volunteers from Kusoldharm Foundation recovered the body, allowing forensic doctor Dr. Tulayawit Wannasri to conduct a preliminary examination. The deceased was identified as Mr. Wright, a 36-year-old British national, There were no visible injuries on the body, and the time of death was estimated to be 5-6 hours prior to the discovery. The cause of death is believed to be drowning.

 

Miss Isabel, a 17 year old relative of the deceased, provided details to the police. She explained that Mr. Wright had traveled to Phuket with his family on November 17, staying at the Seaview Hotel, Room 321. On the evening of November 19, around 22:00 Mr. Wright left the hotel and could not be contacted.

 

CCTV footage from the area was reviewed and showed there was no evidence of foul play and the victim was on his own when climbing over the railings and falling in. Miss Isabel confirmed the identity of the deceased as her relative.

 

The body has been sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a detailed autopsy. The case has been recorded as Forensic Case No. 75/2024, and police are working with the British Embassy to inform Mr. Wright’s family in the UK.

 

Local authorities continue to investigate the incident to determine the exact circumstances surrounding Mr. Wright’s death.

 

Pictures from responders.

 

-- 2024-11-20

 

How does that even happen ???... 

 

Slipped while attempting to retrieve a dropped item (phone or something) ???

 

 

 

 

Maybe drunk! 

15 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Maybe drunk! 

 

I think so too... I can't imagine any other way he could have fallen in... 

 

... Drunk, dropped something, tired to retrieve it, fell in.... 

 

 

What a horrific way to go... 

 

 

 

Nasty people jump straight to Blaming the foreigner "He must be drunk"! Try looking at the photo. Barrier, that is a little exaggerated, look at it, it's almost knee hight at the large step. Path is also unsafe with several area's one could trip resulting in one tripping. The other fact is its outside a hospital. Maybe he was going to the hospital, tripped and died. This should never have happened,  the drain should have been covered,  no massive steps and flat smooth sidewalks.  Thailand inferstructuer is 3rd world at best except for sky train and MRT. Let us not forget the possibility of being nocked in by a motorbike driving on the path. Lots of possibilities.  Stop Blaming foreigners. 

12 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Maybe drunk! 

Maybe not.

321 lucky lotto number?

Could have been walking and staring at his phone. Those rails are trip level high... Horrible way to go.

12 hours ago, BritScot said:

Nasty people jump straight to Blaming the foreigner "He must be drunk"! Try looking at the photo. Barrier, that is a little exaggerated, look at it, it's almost knee hight at the large step. Path is also unsafe with several area's one could trip resulting in one tripping. The other fact is its outside a hospital. Maybe he was going to the hospital, tripped and died. This should never have happened,  the drain should have been covered,  no massive steps and flat smooth sidewalks.  Thailand inferstructuer is 3rd world at best except for sky train and MRT. Let us not forget the possibility of being nocked in by a motorbike driving on the path. Lots of possibilities.  Stop Blaming foreigners. 

 

 

Bloody hell, it's obvious and fenced enough for anybody to realise it's a hazard, give it a wide berth and to stay well away from it.

 

I can't see it being a motorbike, it's a fair distance from the road. Also, it ain't knee-high, unless you are Michael Jordan, you can see in the pic with the guys standing around, it's waist high.

 

I agree Thailand doesn't have a great health and safety record, but visitors know this, as it's obvious, such as lousy drivers, open manhole covers, etc

 

You are not going to achieve Western standards of health and safety over here.

 

Anyway, RIP to the poor guy, 36 years old is no age!

 

 

 

 

 

 

41 minutes ago, Dakhar said:

Could have been walking and staring at his phone. Those rails are trip level high... Horrible way to go.

oh come on... trip level height, was he 10ft tall ?

49 minutes ago, Dakhar said:

Could have been walking and staring at his phone. Those rails are trip level high... Horrible way to go.

He was filmed climbing the rails! why we will never know.

12 hours ago, BritScot said:

Nasty people jump straight to Blaming the foreigner "He must be drunk"! Try looking at the photo. Barrier, that is a little exaggerated, look at it, it's almost knee hight at the large step. Path is also unsafe with several area's one could trip resulting in one tripping. The other fact is its outside a hospital. Maybe he was going to the hospital, tripped and died. This should never have happened,  the drain should have been covered,  no massive steps and flat smooth sidewalks.  Thailand inferstructuer is 3rd world at best except for sky train and MRT. Let us not forget the possibility of being nocked in by a motorbike driving on the path. Lots of possibilities.  Stop Blaming foreigners. 

Did you even read the article?

The CCTV shows him climbing over the fence.

16 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

oh come on... trip level height, was he 10ft tall ?

Agreed. H&S law in the UK requires the top rail of any scaffold to be a minimum of 950mm height. Comparing the height of those rails to the people in the photograph I would say that they were around that height at least. 

13 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Did you even read the article?

The CCTV shows him climbing over the fence.

Agreed. Maybe he dropped something in there? We will probably never know the reason (unless his phone drops off mid-text or something). Just a shame by any account and, why couldn't they have used a metal grate on top instead poles the way round? I guess it's just Thailand like many other underdeveloped countries. Hopefully he had a good night out.

And where is Mr wright from?

3 minutes ago, sumongkhwai said:

Agreed. Maybe he dropped something in there? We will probably never know the reason (unless his phone drops off mid-text or something). Just a shame by any account and, why couldn't they have used a metal grate on top instead poles the way round? I guess it's just Thailand like many other underdeveloped countries. Hopefully he had a good night out.

Its not just poles, it is a full barrier and painted red & white, if that doesn't say 'hazard' I don't know what does.

 

 

Strange place to have a drainage ditch, but even so, it is cordoned off with a barrier and is quite visible.

Not sure what the guy was up to.

This is a picture captured from CCTV. It shows that the victim had climbed over the railings and no-one else was involved. It is not clear why he climbed over.

 

 

An undignified end.

14 hours ago, BritScot said:

Try looking at the photo. Barrier, that is a little exaggerated, look at it, it's almost knee hight at the large step

Yeah , I guess so if you are like 10ft tall

2 hours ago, Dakhar said:

Could have been walking and staring at his phone. Those rails are trip level high... Horrible way to go.

Doesn't it state in the article that on CCTV he was seen "climbing over the  rail"

Why is the area not covered by a grate and a steel  railing,did someone think a small railing will be enough or did they just look at it cost wise.And out the front of a hospital to,not exactly safety conscious are they but that type of thinking is everywhere in Thailand. 

mr wright, in the wrong place

16 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Maybe drunk! 

I think Mr. Wright picked the Wrong place to go for a swim to cool down or sober up.

The above waist high railings are as good as I've ever seen erected in Thailand to protect earthworks.

In past years I've seen video of people duck diving in an unprotected, flooded hole in Patong to retrieve motorbikes completely under water. I remember a woman dying when she drove her car into a cutting across a street that was only protected by a tree branch on the road,

Who knows what this guy was thinking or trying to do when he climbed over the barrier. There was no foul play, and he didn't trip over anything, He climbed in as shown on CCTV. 

Whether he was drunk, drugged or not can only be confirmed by an autopsy.

 

So sad.. But so crazy in every way. 

 

That's some heavy duty tackle to retrieve a body! 

 

Yes it's an open area that goes into a deep hole. So stay away! 

 

To climb over a fence at nighttime... Into the unknown... Crazy. If he tripped and fell... Why was he so close to such a hazard? Bonkers all around 

 

Condolences to his family. 

8 minutes ago, OldmanJ said:

Why is the area not covered by a grate and a steel  railing,did someone think a small railing will be enough or did they just look at it cost wise.And out the front of a hospital to,not exactly safety conscious are they but that type of thinking is everywhere in Thailand. 

It seems to have been enough until this guy arrive in Thailand 3 days ago

Anyone not familiar with this area will not know that this drain is only meters away from the police station, Hospital opposite & police station on the same side just a few meters further down.

It would take a doctor from the hospital about 10 seconds longer to get their than a copper from the police station.

 

Useless info, never the less sad way to go. RIP mate.  

With a good breakfast he would have been able to make it to the hospital but so ... he made it just to the nearby ditch. 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

Enjoy your breakfasts ... it will take you further than you think. 5555ๆ

17 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

police are working with the British Embassy to inform Mr. Wright’s family in the UK

 

Huh? Says he traveled to Phuket with his family and that a relative confirmed his identity. However it does seem slightly odd that the relative was only 17. Where's the wife? All very mysterious.