Lt Col Somnuek Damkaew of the Kamala Police was alerted by Kamala rescue workers at 2pm that they had discovered the body of a young boy in a small ditch behind Phuket FantaSea.
Upon arrival at the scene, where a new access road is under construction behind the tourist attraction, police saw one backhoe parked above the rain-filled ditch. A rope with danger signs and traffic cones were placed around the ditch.
The sign read “Danger please be careful, road is under construction”.
Lt Col Somnuek said, “The boy (Weerapol Thasida) had been dead for at least one hour before his body was discovered by Chatchai Srikhan, 29, (the construction site foreman) who drove past the pool and noticed a hand poking out from the water.
“Mr Chatchai stopped to check, and when he realised it was a body he called for help,” he said.
“We assume that the child was playing at this area and accidentally fell into the pool which was about 1.5 metres deep,” he added.
Parents Boonsom Chanrangsi, 40, and Thongla Thasida, 45, were devastated by the news of Weerapol's death, at just 3 years 11 months of age.
“They both fainted when they saw the body,” said Lt Col Somnuek.
Weerapol’s body was taken to Patong Hospital for doctors to confirm the time and cause of death.