The 25-year-old Myanmar national, Aung Zaw Tun, was swimming with a friend in Khlong Katha Reservoir behind Wat Pu Supha in Chalong. The pair decided to swim from one side of the reservoir to the other when Mr Aung disappeared under the water. (See story here.)
Local fishermen who saw what happened jumped in to help but were unable to find him.
Rescue teams and emergency services from various authorities coordinated to find the body, with divers searching the reservoir for hours on Sunday and resuming the search on Monday morning.
It wasn’t until 6:50pm on Monday evening that divers eventually found the man’s body lying face down at the bottom of the reservoir at a depth of around 10 meters.
The body was taken to the shore in a boat and then transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy before it is given to Mr Aung’s relatives for ceremonial proceedings.