Missing Canadian found dead at central Thailand railway station
Police today discovered the dead body of a Canadian man under the platform of Chet Samian Railway Station in the central province of Ratchaburi. This discovery followed a missing person report filed yesterday, March 20.
A group of foreigners lodged a missing persons report at Banpong Police Station yesterday, saying that their Canadian friend, 26 year old Ralph Joseph Ryan, disappeared while they were on train No. 168, travelling from Bangkok to the southern provinces of Chumphon and Trang.
According to the friends, Ryan separated from them to smoke cigarettes outside the train carriage when they reached Ratchaburi province. It was his habit to stand at the train door while smoking. However, Ryan did not return after 30 minutes. The friends decided to stop at Baan Kluay Station to seek help from the police when he did not return.
Police officers and railway authorities set out a search party for Ryan but could not locate him. The friends tracked his last known location near Klong Bang Tarn Station in the Banpong district of Ratchaburi province using his phone signal.
Despite conducting searches from Klong Bang Tarn Station and other stations, officers could not find the missing man.
Photaram Police Station later received a report from the leader of a platform construction team that one of his workers stumbled upon the Canadian man beneath the platform of Chet Samian Station in Ratchaburi province.
Falling off train
The worker informed the police that he usually napped in the gap beneath the platform every afternoon. He went there today and was shocked to see a dead body.
Ryan was found shirtless, wearing dark blue shorts, with his wallet and ID card in his trouser pocket. Nearby were his flip-flops and headphones. He had a major wound on his left leg, and blood strains were presented on the platform.
Police suspect that Ryan might have accidentally fallen off the train, with his leg striking the platform causing severe injury and blood loss.
They believed ongoing construction at the station might have contributed to his fall. A concrete structure projecting from the platform potentially hit his leg while he was smoking at the train door, causing his fall and injury.
Officers also believed that Ryan might have sought refuge in the gap beneath the platform to avoid being hit by the train. However, due to his severe injury, he could not get out of the gap.
His body has been transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy.
The State Railway of Thailand prohibits smoking on trains and at train stations. There are no designated smoking areas on trains, leading many passengers to smoke at train doors or open windows, violating the rules.
