At around 4.30pm, Lt Col Chittiwa Thanavitwilas of Phuket City Police was notified by patrol officers that local residents found a dead body in the sea not far from Samakkhi Soi 9 on Phuket’s eastern shore.
Having received the information, police with Kusoldharm rescue workers, Vachira Phuket Hospital staff and a forensic expert rushed to scene where they found a body of a man "stuck" at the edge of a the mangroves.
The body was taken out of the water and examined. The deceased turned out to be an elderly male dressed in white and pink striped polo shirt and blue pants. A medical mask was still under the man’s chin. No injuries or other suspicious signs were discovered.
Not far from the body officers found plastic bag with cash and personal papers. The later let to identify the dead as Sahat Bunchan, 59, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
The body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsy. Police are now trying to find the man’s relatives.