Mystery as British pensioner, 69, dies in fall from fourth-floor hotel balcony in Thailand
- The British man ended up in a narrow alley next to the hotel building in Pattaya
A British pensioner died early Sunday morning after falling from a fourth-floor hotel balcony in Thailand.
The 69-year-old jumped from his room around 2 a.m. on February 4 and ended up in a narrow alley next to the hotel building in Pattaya.
Police and medics arrived on the scene and found the shirtless man conscious but unable to speak.
They rushed him to Bang Lamung Hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
A Thai woman named Waew, who lives across the street, said she heard the Briton calling for help and alerted police when she found him groaning in pain on his back.
The 69-year-old jumped from his room around 2 a.m. on February 4 and ended up in a narrow alley next to the hotel building in Pattaya (photo)
She said: ‘I was resting in my room when I heard someone crying outside. I grabbed my flashlight and went to look near the hotel, where I found the injured man lying on the ground.”
The body is still at Bang Lamung Hospital and will soon be handed over to his family for funeral arrangements.
Police Lieutenant Anirut Jehroh from Pattaya City Police Station said: “We inspected the British man’s room and found no traces of assault. We don’t know yet if he fell on purpose or accidentally.
‘We don’t believe anyone else was involved. A post-mortem examination will reveal whether he was drunk at the time.”
A Swedish swimming coach also died early Sunday morning in a fall from a hotel in another part of Pattaya. The man, 60, suffered serious injuries and later died after falling from his third-floor room.
The police investigated the causes of both incidents.
The former fishing village of Pattaya became popular with US troops during “rest and relaxation breaks” in the 1960s, when the US military had bases in Thailand.
In the following years, the coastal town grew into a semi-barbaric hellscape for sex tourism.
Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects, but a voracious nightlife industry and corrupt police have hampered their efforts, continuing to attract unwanted guests from all countries to the seedy city.
MailOnline has contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for comment.