CONFLICTING accounts surfaced today about what happened in the final hours before two women tourists died on the holiday island of Phi Phi over the weekend.
American Ryan Kells said he was bundled off the island in a speed boat with the body of his fiancee after her sudden death.
He spoke to Phuketwan by telephone from Bangkok a couple of hours before the body of his girlfriend, Jill Sheree St Onge, 27, was due to be cremated.
''I felt like they were trying to brush us off,'' he said of the trip that cost him $250, with Miss St Onge's body in a bodybag in the bottom of the boat. ''They wanted it all to go away.''
Miss St Onge fell sick at a local guest house and died within hours. In the next room, a Norwegian woman, Julie Michelle Bergheim, 22, also fell sick and died in similar fashion.
The cause of both deaths remains a mystery.
Locals at Laleena Guesthouse today were suggesting that the American couple had argued on Saturday night, not long before Miss St Onge fell sick.
But Mr Kells said: ''Absolutely not.''
''We spent the whole day having a great time. They must have seen some other couple arguing.
''We had a pizza for dinner on the beach and a conversation about what we were going to do together with the next two years of our lives.
''Jill was talking about coming to teach in Thailand.
''Jill and I hardly ever argued. We'd been together for five years and just two months ago, on our trip, I proposed to her.''
Mr Kells said Miss St Onge had been feeling unwell and had had no alcohol to drink before her death.
A doctor on the island had suggested that a popular ''Bucket'' drink, alcohol and fruit juice mixed with Red Bull, might be the common denominator in the two deaths, and the illness of a third woman who was with the dead Norwegian.
The doctor's opinion was ''based on hearsay,'' he said.
''Jill hated Red Bull and we are 27, not 19 and out for drinking fun,'' Mr Kells added.
He was unimpressed with the standard of treatment Miss St Onge received at the local hospital, where she died, and he remains keen to find out precisely what caused his fiancee's death.
''They did not appear to know how to perform cpr,'' he said. Mr Kells published his own account of events on an online blog soon after the death of Miss St Onge.
''I want people to know what happened,'' he said.
Mr Kells said he was struck by the chemical smell when he and Miss St Onge checked in and went to their room on Saturday.
''It was our first air-conditioned room for about a month,'' he said. ''I felt that whatever that smell was, it was some kind of gas.''
He went in and out of the room to an Internet cafe and for food while Miss Onge stayed in the room, and fell sick.
''I feel that whatever was in the room was what she succumbed to,'' Mr Kells said.
''I find it highly coincidentally that the woman in the next room died in the same way. We were in Room 4, they were in Room 5.''
Mr Kells' parents have joined him in Bangkok. After this afternoon's cremation, he plans to take Miss St Onge's ashes back to her family in the US.
The couple lived in Seattle, on the west coast, although both grew up in California.
Mr Kells wants people to know what happened, and to have the cause of the two deaths revealed as soon as possible.
''They (the island authorities) wanted to get us away from the island as fast as possible,'' he said.
He said the speedboat broke down during the nightmare trip back to Phuket and it took 45 minutes to repair.
Transporting he and the body to Bangkok, the autopsy, which took place yesterday, and today's cremation have cost him US$2500.
''Two deaths in one day . . . it shouldn't happen to anyone,'' he said. ''I want to make sure it does not happen again.''
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American Ryan Kells said he was bundled off the island in a speed boat with the body of his fiancee after her sudden death.
He spoke to Phuketwan by telephone from Bangkok a couple of hours before the body of his girlfriend, Jill Sheree St Onge, 27, was due to be cremated.
''I felt like they were trying to brush us off,'' he said of the trip that cost him $250, with Miss St Onge's body in a bodybag in the bottom of the boat. ''They wanted it all to go away.''
Miss St Onge fell sick at a local guest house and died within hours. In the next room, a Norwegian woman, Julie Michelle Bergheim, 22, also fell sick and died in similar fashion.
The cause of both deaths remains a mystery.
Locals at Laleena Guesthouse today were suggesting that the American couple had argued on Saturday night, not long before Miss St Onge fell sick.
But Mr Kells said: ''Absolutely not.''
''We spent the whole day having a great time. They must have seen some other couple arguing.
''We had a pizza for dinner on the beach and a conversation about what we were going to do together with the next two years of our lives.
''Jill was talking about coming to teach in Thailand.
''Jill and I hardly ever argued. We'd been together for five years and just two months ago, on our trip, I proposed to her.''
Mr Kells said Miss St Onge had been feeling unwell and had had no alcohol to drink before her death.
A doctor on the island had suggested that a popular ''Bucket'' drink, alcohol and fruit juice mixed with Red Bull, might be the common denominator in the two deaths, and the illness of a third woman who was with the dead Norwegian.
The doctor's opinion was ''based on hearsay,'' he said.
''Jill hated Red Bull and we are 27, not 19 and out for drinking fun,'' Mr Kells added.
He was unimpressed with the standard of treatment Miss St Onge received at the local hospital, where she died, and he remains keen to find out precisely what caused his fiancee's death.
''They did not appear to know how to perform cpr,'' he said. Mr Kells published his own account of events on an online blog soon after the death of Miss St Onge.
''I want people to know what happened,'' he said.
Mr Kells said he was struck by the chemical smell when he and Miss St Onge checked in and went to their room on Saturday.
''It was our first air-conditioned room for about a month,'' he said. ''I felt that whatever that smell was, it was some kind of gas.''
He went in and out of the room to an Internet cafe and for food while Miss Onge stayed in the room, and fell sick.
''I feel that whatever was in the room was what she succumbed to,'' Mr Kells said.
''I find it highly coincidentally that the woman in the next room died in the same way. We were in Room 4, they were in Room 5.''
Mr Kells' parents have joined him in Bangkok. After this afternoon's cremation, he plans to take Miss St Onge's ashes back to her family in the US.
The couple lived in Seattle, on the west coast, although both grew up in California.
Mr Kells wants people to know what happened, and to have the cause of the two deaths revealed as soon as possible.
''They (the island authorities) wanted to get us away from the island as fast as possible,'' he said.
He said the speedboat broke down during the nightmare trip back to Phuket and it took 45 minutes to repair.
Transporting he and the body to Bangkok, the autopsy, which took place yesterday, and today's cremation have cost him US$2500.
''Two deaths in one day . . . it shouldn't happen to anyone,'' he said. ''I want to make sure it does not happen again.''
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Latest Does it matter if the truth is never known about mishaps that kill tourists on and around Phuket? It matters because of trust. Only once the whole truth is told can trust be restored.
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Latest Inquiries were continuing today into the mysterious deaths of two women who occupied adjoining rooms at the same Phi Phi guesthouse. Several rumors have been discounted.
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Feel so sad for these young people.
Posted by Been here long time on May 7, 2009 19:08