Body of German tourist who jumped from Koh Pha Ngan ferry found near Koh Tao

A body found floating in the sea near Koh Tao is believed to be the missing German tourist who jumped off a ferry shortly after it departed from Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand one week ago.

At 4pm yesterday, the Kusol Sattha Rescue Foundation was informed that a tourist boat came across the body of a male tourist floating in the Ao Muong Bay in Koh Tao subdistrict, Koh Pha Ngan district, Surat Thani province.

The head of the foundation’s rescue operations team Apichet Chuaypitak and the chief of Koh Tao Police Station Pol. Col. Chokchai Suthimek went to investigate.

At the scene, rescuers pulled the body up onto the boat for inspection. A turtle tattoo on the man’s back led police to identify the deceased as Florian Storz of German nationality.

Although police are confident the body is Storz, they say a formal identification process is underway and the German Embassy in Thailand will be informed once it is complete.

At 6.30pm on January 31, Storz boarded the Raja Ferry R8 to Koh Samui at Thongala Pier in Koh Pha Ngan with his girlfriend. About 15 minutes into the journey, Storz jumped into the sea amid choppy conditions approximately 6.19 nautical miles from Koh Pha Ngan.

The ferry, which was travelling at a speed of eight knots, immediately turned around to initiate a search for the missing tourist.

A rescue mission was launched with efforts from Koh Pha Ngan Police Station, Koh Pha Ngan Harbor Master, Marine Police, Tourist Police, and the Charosat Sattha Foundation.

In the hours that followed, rescuers searched the area however the search was temporarily suspended and picked back up the next day due to darkness and bad weather.

Hopes of finding the tourist alive began to fade as the days went by.

Storz’s motivation for jumping from the ferry is unknown.

The German Embassy will contact Storz’s family.