Swedish snorkeler “likely died of heart attack’

PHUKET: The Swedish man who died off Racha Yai Island earlier today likely died of a heart attack, the Phuket Gazette has been told.

Martin Anders Christer Nilsson, 63, was on a Phuket fishing tour with his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and her children when the incident occurred.

“He had gotten off of the boat to go snorkeling,” said Phuket Tourist Police volunteer Gary Halpin.

Soon after Mr Nilsson entered the water, the crew on board the boat noticed him floating face down.

They recovered his body and administered CPR, said Mr Halpin.

At 12:15pm, a dive tour boat nearby with a medical student on board was hailed for assistance.

“When the dive boat arrived, Mr Nilsson was already blue in the face and had seawater and vomit coming from his mouth,” Mr Halpin said.

Mr Nilsson had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, so oxygen wasn’t administered, he added.

Family members present said they believed the cause of death to be a heart attack, said Mr Halpin.