Russian woman almost drowns on Patong beach

It was a close call for one Russian woman who almost drowned on Patong Beach yesterday. The incident happened at the part of the beach near the Bangla Police Box.

Tourists pulled the unconscious woman out of the water, and lifeguards, once aware of the situation, rushed to help.

The lifeguards, and a tourist who was a doctor, worked to provide the woman with emergency CPR until they found a pulse and the woman became responsive, officials said.

A member of Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket, Vincent Modell, told The Thaiger he helped provide the woman with oxygen, and performed basic life checks, before transferring the woman to Patong Hospital.

The woman’s name and age were not reported.

In a grateful Facebook post, the Patong Lifeguard Club expressed its gratitude toward the doctor tourist who helped them.

“We have to thank that tourist very much for providing first aid.”

Officials praised all the individuals involved in helping the woman, with a special thanks to the tourists who helped at the scene, The Phuket News reported.

Last year, there were a number of drowning incidents in Phuket. On November 13, a Russian tourist drowned while swimming at Karon Beach on the west coast of the island province.

The rescue team arrived and gave him CPR but it was not successful. An ambulance took him to Chalong Hospital, and he was given CPR for the whole journey. However, he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The deceased was identified as Kharitonov Wadiniz of Russian nationality. Police estimated that Wadiniz was about 45 years old.

In July, a Vietnamese woman and her daughter drowned while swimming at Naithon Beach in Phuket’s Thalang district. After swimming out about 20 meters, the 52 year old Vietnamese woman and her 16 year old daughter were overwhelmed by large waves and pulled further out to sea.

Also in July, a major tragedy shook Thailand when a doctor drowned while trying to save a British tourist from drowning. Both men tragically ended up drowning.