22-year-old Aussie tourist tragically drowns in Thailand

News.com.au

09-05-2025

A 22-year-old Australian tourist has drowned in Thailand after reportedly diving into the sea while drunk during a boat tour.
Horrifying footage shows onlookers watching as medics perform CPR on the Melbourne man while on board a tourist boat on May 6.
A medic can be seen rapidly pumping up and down on the young man's chest before stopping and appearing to let a colleague take over.
The 22-year-old reportedly jumped off the Marinda 2 tour boat to swim off the coast of Koh Racha Yai, a popular destination for snorkelling and diving.
He attempted to paddle in the water but was dragged underwater due to strong currents and inebriation.
Medics were dispatched to the scene after receiving a distress call from the boat operator at 2.28pm local time.
They found the tourist unconscious and unresponsive on the deck and immediately administered CPR.
Upon detecting a pulse, he was rushed to Chalong Hospital in Phuket. However, he was pronounced dead at 3.53pm.
A boat trip from the island of Koh Racha Yai typically takes 45 minutes to 1 hour and an additional 15 minutes in a car to arrive at Chalong Hospital.
Police lieutenant colonel Kanen Somrak of Chalong Police Station told local media the victim is an Australian national, adding there were seven foreign tourists, including the deceased.
'The victim had consumed a large amount of alcohol before entering the water. He was reportedly intoxicated and repeatedly jumped in and out of the sea before eventually drowning,' Mr Somrak said.
'No illegal substances were found at the scene. Only empty alcohol beverage bottles were discovered.'
Authorities have contacted the Australian embassy to inform the young man's family of his death. His body is being kept at the Vachira Phuket Hospital as officials arrange his repatriation.
News.com.au has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.
Indonesia's notoriously dangerous beaches
Just days earlier, A Chinese tourist was filmed in her final moments before tragically drowning while trying to retrieve a camera she dropped on a diving trip in Indonesia.
Zhang Xiaohan, 30, went scuba diving to admire the corals and marine life off the remote Kabakan Island in East Kalimantan on May 2.
However, the woman's GoPro camera she was using slipped from her hands as she was ascending almost eight metres through the waters
She battled and tried to drag herself up the depths but was washed away by fast-flowing currents.
Rescue teams, the local marine search agency Basarnas and soldiers were dispatched to comb the sea around the island.
After repeated diving attempts, the holidaymaker's body was found 88 metres below the surface, near the popular Kelapa Dua diving route, at 2.55pm on Saturday, May 3.
Indonesia's beaches, though stunning, pose several dangers including strong rip currents, rogue waves, and unpredictable tides that can make swimming perilous, especially for inexperienced swimmers.
In August last year, university professor Dr James Hou Fu Liu, 62, from New Zealand drowned while snorkelling off a beach in Indonesia.
While in September 2024, Colleen Monfore, 68, from South Dakota, was dragged away by the strong currents around Pulau Reong island off the coast of the country's Southwest Maluku Regency.
She was believed to have been a victim of sharks before the remains of her body surfaced.
A 2019 study showed that Indonesia experienced an average annual unintentional drowning mortality rate of 2.58 per 100,000 people – translating to approximately 4,500 deaths each year.
Despite calls from the World Health Organisation for Indonesia to designate a lead agency to co-ordinate drowning prevention efforts, it is yet to establish these measures.