Senior Bangkok official dies from Krabi hot spring splash

PHUKET: A senior official at the Attorney-General’s Office in Bangkok was pronounced dead on April 30 after a leap into a Krabi hot spring left him in a coma a few weeks earlier.

Somkiat Phatkhun, the deputy director of the Training and Development Institute at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, was on vacation with his wife when the accident occurred.

“He suffered severe heat stroke from plunging into a hot spring at Huai Nam Khao in Khlong Thom, Krabi, on April 13,” said Jessada Chungpaibulpatana, director of Vachira Phuket Hospital.

“Overcome by the heat, he passed out and the heat stroke triggered organ failures, specifically of his kidneys and liver.”

Mr Somkiat’s body was returned to his hometown for funeral rites.

After the incident, Krabi Governor Songphol Sawasdhram ordered local authorities to ensure that signs were installed to clearly warn tourists about precautions to take before entering a hot spring (story here).

— Thanaphon Phromthong