Thalang Police were notified at about 6pm by staff at Thalang Hospital that a foreign tourist had died after falling from a building in Cherng Talay. The man later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital’s emergency room.
Pol Lt Col Niwat Timket, an investigator at Thalang Police Station, was assigned to the case and informed Thalang Police Chief Pol Col Nikorn Chuthong before proceeding to the hospital.
Hospital staff told police the man* had been transported from a hotel in Cherng Talay earlier in the afternoon by the Cherng Talay Municipality rescue unit and a Thalang Hospital ambulance. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at about 4:15pm.
Initial investigations revealed the tourist had been staying at the hotel, in Soi Cherng Talay 14. Witnesses stated that he appeared normal earlier in the day, but at about 2:30pm he became agitated and was heard repeatedly calling out for his mother before opening a window and jumping from the fourth floor of the building.
Hotel staff immediately contacted emergency services, and rescue workers performed CPR at the scene before rushing him to hospital.
Police said preliminary drug testing conducted by hospital doctors detected marijuana in the man’s system.
A joint medical examination was conducted by police and an attending physician before the body was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a detailed forensic examination to confirm the exact cause of death.
Thalang Police have recorded the incident as a death investigation and notified the Uzbekistani Embassy, police said.
* The Phuket News is withholding the man’s name until it has been confirmed that his family have been notified.
If you or anyone you know is in need of emotional support and counselling, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand at 02-113-6789 (English & Thai) or the Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai).