Staff at Patong Hospital notified Lt Col Somnuek Damkaew of the Kamala Police at 10:31pm that they were unable to revive a Chinese tourist Ren Zhifeng.
“Doctors pronounced the man dead on arrival and confirmed that there were no injuries on his body,” Col Somnuek said.
Mr Ren and his family checked in to the hotel on Friday (July 1), he added.
“Around 9pm on Saturday, he asked his friends and family to join him and his son for a swim at the pool,” Col Somnuek explained.
Mr Ren and his son went into the pool first while the others were still getting ready in their rooms.
“One family member said they arrived five minutes later and saw Mr Ren at the bottom of the pool. When they suspected something was wrong, they dived in and pulled him out,” Col Somnuek said.
Attempts to revive Mr Ren while waiting for the ambulance to arrive were unsuccessful.
“Doctors said that he probably went into shock and then drowned,” Col Somnuek noted. “However, they will examine the body to find the true cause of death even though the family do not suspect anything else.”
* Not “Zhi Fengren” as originally reported by police.