Banana forager finds skull

KARON: A local man looking for wild bananas in woods to the east of Karon yesterday afternoon found something rather less appetizing: a human skull. Pol Maj Thanate Poungmanee of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that the man immediately reported what he had found to officials of Tambon Karon, who in turn reported the discovery to Chalong Police Station. At the scene, in foothills about a kilometer from the Karon Health Office, a search by police turned up the rest of the dead person about 10 meters from the point where the skull was found. “Based on the incline of the hill, we think that the skull rolled down from the body,” said Maj Thanate. Lying face down, the body – little more than a skeleton – was wearing an orange T-shirt with the words ‘Phi Phi’ and ‘Phuket’ printed on the back, and a pair of blue pants. A subsequent autopsy identified the corpse as that of a Thai male. He is thought to have died a month or more ago. There were no wounds detectable on the corpse and the skull was intact and undamaged. The police believe the man may have died either from a heart attack or a drug overdose.