PHUKET: A British tourist fell to his death down a huge roadside hole in Phuket’s Patong area on Tuesday (Nov 19) night and his body was discovered by a passerby on Wednesday, police said.
Police said the pit near the Patong Hospital intersection in Krathu district had been dug up to service the tap water facility, and though it was left uncovered, it had been fenced off by metre-high iron bars.
The body was identified to be that of 37-year-old Fraser Wright. Police said that upon checking the security camera feed, they saw Wright walk past the spot before stopping to stand by it. He then climbed over the bars, and stood briefly before trying to step into the pit. He then appears to lose balance and fall, disappearing from the camera.
A doctor who was part of the team sent to retrieve the body reckoned Wright had been dead for at least five hours. The body has been sent to the Vajira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy.
Earlier on Wednesday, Wright’s relatives filed a report at the Patong Police Station, saying he had left his hotel room at about 10pm on Tuesday and had not returned. They said they could not contact him either.
Police contacted the relatives after the body was found, and they confirmed it was Wright.
Katie Isabel, 17, said she, Wright and another relative had arrived in Phuket on Sunday and checked in at a hotel in Patong until Wright disappeared on Tuesday. - The Nation/ANN
