UPDATE: Following the posting of this story, it has been confirmed that the Australian man was suffering side effects from the heavy painkiller Tramadol at the time of his fall. Also, confirmed is that his hotel room was locked from the inside, and strongly disputed is that he was drinking heavily before the fall. (See story here.)
Officers were called to the C&N Hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd at about 2:15am, reported Lt Col Patiwat Yodkwan of the Patong Police.
By the time police had arrived, rescue workers had already rushed the man to Patong Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Col Patiwat noted in his report.
The man* was staying in a room on the fourth floor. He checked into the hotel alone on Thursday (June 6) was to check out tomorrow (June 10), hotel staff confirmed, reported Col Patiwat.
One witness reported seeing the Australian climbing over a balcony at the back of the building. The man slipped and fell, landing on a Nissan sedan parked behind the hotel.
Col Patiwat reported that officers had yet to search the man’s hotel room, but added that witnesses had reported that the man had been drinking heavily since he checked into the hotel on Thursday.
* The Phuket News is withholding the man’s name until it has been confirmed that his next of kin has been notified.