According to Thalang Police, officers were notified by Thalang Hospital at about 8pm after the woman, 45 years old*, was pronounced dead.
Police said the woman had been staying with her husband and 14 relatives at the luxury villa complex at Cape Yamu from July 20-25.
Her husband told investigators that the family had rented jet-skis and visited Koh Naka during the afternoon before returning to the villa at about 5:15pm.
After returning, the woman, her husband and about eight relatives went swimming in the villa’s pool, which is about three metres deep.
While they were swimming, one of the relatives noticed the woman in difficulty in the water. Family members pulled her from the pool, performed CPR and called emergency medical services.
She was taken by ambulance to Thalang Hospital, where doctors attempted to save her life, but she was later pronounced dead.
A preliminary examination by police and doctors determined that the cause of death was drowning. Her body has been retained at Thalang Hospital pending a full post-mortem examination.
Police said the investigation is continuing. Officers will question relatives who were present at the time of the incident, review CCTV footage and notify the Australian Embassy. The exact circumstances surrounding the drowning remain under investigation.
* The Phuket News is withholding the woman’s name until family members in Australia have the chance to be notified.