The latest incident occurred at 3:50pm yesterday (June 11), when Karon Municipality’s rescue unit was alerted by lifeguards at Kata Beach that a foreign man had drowned and lost consciousness.
Upon arrival, rescuers found the victim unresponsive and without a pulse. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered and the man was transferred to an ambulance from Chalong Hospital. Despite efforts to revive him, he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The victim was identified as Yevgeniy Ksheminskiy, 41, a tourist from Kazakhstan. Chalong Police reported that they had coordinated with the Kazakhstan embassy to inform the man’s relatives and arrange for his body to be repatriated.
Less than half an hour later, at about 4pm yesterday, a second drowning was reported at Bang Tao Beach.
Rescue teams from the Cherng Talay Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor) responded after being notified by lifeguards that a foreign woman had been pulled from the water.
The woman, believed to be around 40 years old, was also found unconscious and without a pulse. Lifeguards and bystanders performed CPR before she was rushed to Thalang Hospital, but she too was pronounced dead.
Authorities have not yet released her identity pending notification of her family.
The two deaths followed a similar tragedy the previous day. On Tuesday, Daniela Idrizi, a 41-year-old tourist from Albania, drowned at Karon Beach shortly after arriving on the island with her husband, Mohammed Abdulkhaliya Hamdi Alsaba, 43, an Egyptian national.
According to police, the couple had checked into a hotel in Karon earlier that afternoon and went for a swim around 4pm. Within 10 minutes, Mr Mohammed noticed that his wife had disappeared beneath the waves.
Lifeguards launched a search, locating Ms. Idrizi about an hour later. Despite efforts by rescue teams and medical staff at Chalong Hospital, she could not be revived.
Lifeguards say that the latest victims of Phuket’s southwest monsoon surf ignored red ‘no swimming’ flags posted along sections of the beaches.
LIfeguards have now warned visitors to exercise extreme caution when swimming during the monsoon season, as strong currents and rough seas can create dangerous conditions, even for experienced swimmers.
Some areas now even feature the sign ‘Beach Closed’.
Patong lifeguards have urged swimmers to enter the water only in areas marked safe, due to the changing nature of dangerous rip currents.
The warning comes after lifeguards at Patong Beach rescued seven people in one day, with two requiring hospital treatment.