A Korean man in his 40s drowned while swimming with his child at Railay Beach in Krabi, Thailand, during a family vacation. Local rescue teams performed CPR but he was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
According to Thai media outlet Thaiger on the 24th, the incident occurred around 3 p.m. the previous day in waters off Railay Beach in Krabi. Lee, 48, who had entered Thailand on a 60-day visa-free stay and was staying at a hotel in Ao Nang, had taken a longtail boat to Railay Beach with his wife and child when he lost consciousness and collapsed while swimming with his child.
National park rangers responded to the emergency call and pulled Lee from the water. He was transported to a mainland hospital via Nammao Pier but died before arrival. An autopsy determined the cause of death was drowning.
A foreign witness told local outlet Workpoint News that "medical personnel arrived 15 minutes after Lee was pulled from the water." The witness said beachgoers and park rangers had first attempted rescue efforts and CPR.
The bereaved family has not raised additional questions. The body is currently at Krabi Hospital, and repatriation procedures to Korea are underway.
Railay Beach is one of Krabi's premier tourist destinations but has seen a series of accidents. In January this year, a British tourist was rescued after his paraglider became caught on a cliff, leaving him suspended 60 to 70 meters above ground. On the 9th of this month, the body of an unidentified foreign woman was discovered in waters off Jomtien Beach in Pattaya. Authorities are investigating her nationality and cause of death due to lack of identification.