German tourist jumped suddenly from Krabi cliff
A German tourist visiting the Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in southern Thailand was found dead after jumping from a cliff on a nature trail. The man, identified as Loo Kevin Andre, was reported to be suffering from depressive disorder and was being accompanied by park officials at the time of the incident.
According to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the national park chief received a call from a foreigner on Saturday afternoon, who reported that his son, Loo, was suffering from depression and had been in the Khao Ngon Nak mountain area. The concerned father was scared that his son might take his own life.
Officials for the park, located in Krabi province, searched through the daily log book and found that Loo had been recorded going out on a trek at 11.12am on the Khao Ngon Nak mountain nature trail. The 3.7 kilometre trek reaches heights of up to 500 metres above sea level.
Park staff asked the caller to help park officials identify his son by sending them a photo of Loo. After being found by park officials at around 5.30pm, Loo agreed to come down to their office with them.
However, as they were making their way back to the office, after descending for about 1.2 miles, Loo received a disturbing telephone call around 6.30pm.
He turned to the park officials and offered an apology before suddenly running and jumping off a cliff.
The park officials said that he bolted for the cliff edge so quickly that there was nothing they could do to prevent him from jumping.
The officials returned to their office and filed a complaint with the police before contacting rescue units to launch a search for Loo. Two teams made up of park rangers and rescuers set out to find the man. They searched the area around 50 meters below the cliff.
Loo was found deceased around 1am today under the cliff. The body was then transported first to Ao Nang Police Station at 6am and then later to Krabi Hospital for an autopsy. The German embassy will be informed once the results of the autopsy are available.
If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai) or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress or depression. Seek help.
