Police promise fast probe into Canadian deaths
PHUKET: Thai police today (June 18) promised a swift investigation into the deaths of two Canadian sisters found in their hotel room on Phi Phi island.
Monday 18 June 2012, 03:33PM
The bodies of Audrey and Noemi Belanger, aged 20 and 26, from Quebec province, were found on Friday (see earlier story here) by hotel staff on Phi Phi island, showing signs of having died from an extreme toxic reaction.
Police said on Sunday that “serious food poisoning” might have been to blame, but the authorities stressed that it was too early yet to pinpoint the cause of the deaths.
Krabi province police chief Jamroon Reunrom confirmed all evidence would be sent to Bangkok’s forensic department this afternoon.
“We will ask them to process it quickly to establish what killed them.
“As well as the police forensic team, a team from the Health Ministry’s Department of Disease Control also came to help, but we could not say right now what is the cause of the deaths,” he added.
“I prefer to wait for formal results from the police forensic team in Bangkok.”
Officials said they found vomit in the room and blood on the sisters’ lips and gums, while their fingernails and toenails were blue.
They said there was no indication of a violent struggle inside the room at the Palm Residence Hotel. The hotel manager declined to speak to AFP.
Two tourists, a Norwegian and an American, fell ill and died on Phi Phi in 2009 but the exact cause of their deaths has never been established.
Uncertainly also remains over six other deaths – including four in a single hotel – in northern Chiang Mai last year, including New Zealander Sarah Carter. Authorities said poisoning by pesticides or other chemicals was the likely cause of most of those fatalities.
–AFP/The Phuket News
