Police appeal to identify drowned foreigner

KARON: Police have released a photograph of a foreigner who drowned off Karon Beach on Saturday afternoon, in the hope that someone may identify him. The victim is the second to have drowned at Karon Beach on Saturday, the first having been reported in yesterday’s Gazette Online. Pol Capt Chana Sutimard, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that his officers received a report of the second incident at about 3 pm. “The man had been seen walking alone from the back of the Karon Royal Wing hotel to the beach at around 2:30 pm. People saw him swimming for about half an hour before he was hit by a large wave,” Capt Chana said. “The victim was spotted by a foreign male tourist swimming nearby. The tourist went to help him, but the victim was unconscious by the time the man reached him. “The tourist’s attempts to revive the victim failed, and he had died by the time the police arrived,” he added. The victim was wearing blue shorts, was about 175 centimeters tall, and is believed to have been in his mid- to late 50s. He had short gray and white hair, but was bald on the top of his scalp. He had a tattoo of a tiger on his left biceps and the letters “STRGE” tattooed into his left forearm. His right thumb had been severed in a previous incident. Police found a packet of Marlboro cigarettes and a black plastic Casio wristwatch on the beach near where the man drowned. The body is being kept at Wachira Phuket Hospital. Anyone who believes they may know the victim is urged to call Pol Capt Chana Sutimard at 076-381247, or to email the Gazette at info@phuketgazette.net.