UPDATE
Lifeguards and police have so far been unable to identify the Frenchman who was drowned at Ya Nui and believe he could have been a local resident.
Original Report
PHUKET: A Frenchman, believed to be a tourist, has died after being pulled from the sea at a small southern beach on Phuket this afternoon.
The man, aged about 60, was found face down in the water at Ya Nui, a small arc south of Nai Harn, about 4.30pm.
Lifeguards at the beach performed CPR on the sand and the CPR was continued in an ambulance as the man was being taken to Phuket International Hospital in Phuket City.
He could not be revived. It is believed he was alone at the Phuket beach.
Conditions were mild at Ya Nui and at other popular Phuket beaches today.
Phuketwan has been given the man's name but will not publish it until relatives have been notified of the man's death.
Journalists from Phuketwan stopped briefly at Ya Nui about 2pm this afternoon. The beach was packed with tourists.
Three lifeguards were in the ''Lifeguart'' hut at the back of the beach. One was preoccupied, rigging a fishing rod.
In the latest available figures, published earlier today, five drownings occurred on Phuket in October. This compared with six deaths on Phuket's roads.
Up to November 1, 31 people have drowned on Phuket compared to 28 drownings in the same period last year.
The number of drownings on Phuket beaches in relatively tranquil high season conditions appears to justify the decision to make lifeguards on Phuket's main tourist beaches a year-round safeguard.
Supervisors admit there are still gaps in training and equipment between Phuket's lifeguards and more experienced patrols in Australia and the US.
Couldn't he have stopped rigging the fishing rod and gone to save the man's life, or is it impossible to stop rigging a rod half way through? Not being a fisherman, I don't know for sure.
Posted by Phalanx on December 18, 2011 21:20
Editor Comment:
Three lifeguards in a hut at the back of the beach anytime is a no-no. At least one should be at the waterline. This beach is so crowded it's impossible to see it all from the hut. But it's a thankless task and it's difficult to maintain the ''100 percent alert'' that is needed.