Dane dies of blood loss after Phuket tsunami evacuation

PHUKET: A Danish tourist injured during the evacuation of Patong Beach last Wednesday was found dead of apparent blood loss in his Patong hotel room yesterday afternoon.

Patong Police were notified of the death at 5pm by 40-year-old motorbike taxi driver Lamai Ouan – on.

Arriving at the scene with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, police found the body of the 46-year-old Dane lying on the floor beside the bed in his second – storey room of a resort hotel on 50 Pi Road in Patong.

Police estimated the time of death at five days previous to the body’s discovery by resort-worker Sommit Suka, 38.

Ms Sommit said the Danish man returned to the hotel bleeding heavily from a head wound last Wednesday afternoon after he crashed his motorbike on Phra Barami Road during the tsunami evacuation of Patong.

She told the Phuket Gazette that she advised the man to go to Patong Hospital for medical treatment, but he was drunk at the time and refused. Instead, he went into his room and shut the door.

When she opened the door to check on him as a second unofficial evacuation was underway following yesterday’s tremors, she found the man’s body on the floor next to the bed.

There were no signs of foul play in the room and none of the man’s valuables were missing, police said.

The name of the deceased is known to the Gazette, but is being withheld pending notification of kin.

The Danish diplomatic mission in Phuket is now seeking to locate the body to make such verification possible.

— Wichai Witthawat