UPDATE
A MEDICAL examination at Chalong pier late today confirmed the body was male, about 170 centimetres tall, wearing black swimtrunks. It had been floating face down when encountered by a diving boat with tourists on board. Further clues to identity are expected after examination at Vachira Hospital Phuket. A call will go out to local authorities on and around Phuket for reports of missing males, said investigating officer Colonel Thianchai Dungsawan of Chalong Police Station.
Original Report
A BODY has been found floating about one kilometre west of the popular tourist island of Racha, south of Phuket. The remains have been carried back to rest at Chalong pier, and now await the arrival of police and a doctor.
Details are sketchy at this stage but it appears the remains are of a large-bodied person, wearing a white hooded jacket with long sleeves and a pair of bikini briefs.
The body has been in the water long enough to make race or gender impossible to determine by sight.
The body was spotted in the water by the occupants of a boat about 2.45pm today. Kusoldharm Foundation workers later retrieved the remains.
Phuket has a few unsolved mysteries of bodies in the sea, including in recent years a large European male whose body was found at Nai Harn and a woman in a wetsuit who floated ashore at Paradise beach, south of Patong.
Racha is one of the most popular diving and snorkelling destinations around Phuket, with speedboats carrying tourists to the surrounding coral reefs every day. It's also home to a five-star resort.
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