South Korean man saved from drowning near Koh Racha, Phuket On Monday, October 7, the Phuket Tourist Assistance Centre saved a South Korean man from drowning off the island of Koh Racha, which is located in Phuket.
The Phuket Hotnews published an article yesterday, October 8, describing the successful rescue carried out by Thai authorities. The victim, who was not named, was identified as a 63-year-old South Korean man.
According to reports, the man went to Koh Racha and nearly drowned while swimming there. He was saved by officers, but it was discovered that he was exhausted. Before rushing him to Chalong Hospital for further treatment, the rescue team gave him oxygen.
The man’s condition has not been updated, and no information about the circumstances surrounding the near-drowning incident has been made public.
Three weeks ago, the National Maritime Interests Protection Centre Region 3 rescued 143 Thai and foreign tourists who were stuck off Koh Racha because their speedboat couldn’t get back to the mainland because of strong winds and high waves. All tourists were safely rescued.
At Koh Racha, South Korean nationals have been the subject of numerous incidents in the past. Harlan Park, a 13-year-old South Korean girl, drowned in Koh Racha in October 2016 while traveling with her parents, Kim Young Joo and Hee Bok Park.
Lee Yoo Sun, a 73-year-old South Korean woman, drowned in the sea near Koh Racha Noi in 2019.
Sunghyun Cho, a 37-year-old South Korean, and Pongsathorn Madnui, a 34-year-old Thai dive instructor, drowned in La Bay of Koh Racha in the same year. The staff of a travel agency noticed the pair floating unconscious in the water after they had only been diving for about ten minutes at a depth of approximately 4 meters.
It is possible that Cho had an issue with his oxygen tank and rushed to the instructor for help. He may have wrapped his arm around the instructor in an effort to survive and drowned both of them.
Another possibility is that Cho was about to drown, so the Thai instructor tried to save him, but both were exhausted and died as a result.
