Fateful flight: French tourist becomes another statistic of the ‘Pattaya Flying Club’

A 43 year old French tourist became yet another statistic of the insensitively named “Pattaya Flying Club” when he jumped from a hotel building in Pattaya and died at the scene.

Police Lieutenant Anirut Jeroh, Deputy Inspector of Investigation, Pattaya City Police Station, received a report at 4.20am this morning of a French tourist who fell to his death from the hotel balcony. The incident occurred at a hotel in Soi 7, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri Province.

After being notified, the police coordinated with rescue personnel from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation, Pattaya. Along with a medical team from Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, they rushed to investigate.

The scene of the incident was a seven-storey hotel. The injured person was found to be a 43 year old Frenchman named Benjamin (surname withheld) who fell from the lower balcony and fell to the second floor, hitting a display table with potted plants.

Severely injured and unconscious, the French tourist had a large laceration on his head. Rescue workers and a medical team performed CPR on him in an attempt to save his life. However, the Frenchman succumbed to his wounds and died at the scene.

Upon questioning, the hotel staff recalled that at that time they were on duty and heard the sound of something falling and hitting the ground. Upon checking, they found a foreign man lying unconscious in a pool of blood. The staff on duty quickly called the officials for help, reported AmarinTV.

During preliminary investigations, police have inspected CCTV cameras. The CCTV cameras were able to record images of a foreign man walking out of a room on the 4th floor and head straight for the elevator. The footage showed the man going up to the 6th floor and walking out onto the balcony before jumping to his death.

The reason for the Frenchman’s actions remains unknown. Rescue workers were assigned to preserve the body at Bang Lamung Hospital where it awaits relatives to come and pick up the body for a traditional religious ceremony.

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