Aussie tourist dies in Phuket bathroom fall

PHUKET: -- An Australian tourist died of a head injury apparently sustained after he slipped and hit his head on the bathroom floor in a Phuket guesthouse.

Kathu Police at 4:20pm yesterday received a report that a foreign man was discovered dead in the bathroom of his rented room on the third floor of the Vech Guesthouse on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road in Patong.

Pol Lt Weerapong Rakhito told the Gazette that the man apparently slipped and hit the back of his head, where a large wound was visible.

There were no signs of foul play or fighting at the scene or on the body of the deceased, a 67-year-old Australian national.

The man’s name will be withheld pending notification of kin.

Kusoldharm Foundation workers took the body to Patong Hospital for further examination and storage.

Unlike their counterparts in many Western countries, Thai bathrooms are designed for water to fall across the entire floor surface, which is typically covered with ceramic tiles.

The resulting slipperiness is sometimes a challenge for visiting tourists, especially older ones.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-10-21

In fact it is no surprise that someone has died from those cheap tiles that they put in the bathrooms here in Thailand.....they are smooth and a danger to anyone Thai or european....... try walking down the footpath when it is raining and then go onto some shops front steps with those tiles....like standing on ice..... Why can't people think of safety here?

I told my builders to rip up all the tile work they had just finished (I actually waited a day for it to set) and put treaded tiles on the stairs up to my house.....Not happy chaps they were

My condolences to his friends and family. What an unfortunate and unnecessary death.

In fact it is no surprise that someone has died from those cheap tiles that they put in the bathrooms here in Thailand.....they are smooth and a danger to anyone Thai or european....... try walking down the footpath when it is raining and then go onto some shops front steps with those tiles....like standing on ice..... Why can't people think of safety here?

I told my builders to rip up all the tile work they had just finished (I actually waited a day for it to set) and put treaded tiles on the stairs up to my house.....Not happy chaps they were

I agree with you there, slick tiles do not differentiate between Thais or foreigners. My bathroom floor tiles are of the non-skid variety as well as all the tiles outside.

I see granite or marble tiles outside some shops and just cringe at the thought of trying to negotiate passage on those if they are wet.

RIP