28-year-old tourist dies in rip current despite calm waters; eyewitnesses search for him with a drone.

The tragic incident on Ko Kham Island sparked heated discussion on social media about the hidden dangers of swimming in Thailand’s coastal waters. An eyewitness to the incident on 1 June, Facebook user Nattapon Budhong, described what happened in detail to raise public awareness.

According to Nattapon Budhong, he arrived in Koh Kham that day and noticed the pristine beach, clear sky, and calm sea. A group of young people, presumably aged 27-28, were also enjoying the idyllic setting. Nearby was an abandoned, unfinished luxury hotel that had been vacant for more than ten years.

Suddenly, the tranquillity was shattered by tragic news: one of the group members excitedly reported that someone named ‘Pe’ was missing. At first, his friends assumed that he had simply swum far away but soon realized that he had disappeared from view. The hotel staff immediately set out to search for the missing person by boat.

Nattapon Budhong, who had a drone with him, launched it from the hotel grounds to survey the water area. About a hundred meters from the shore, he noticed a dark silhouette under the water. Using the drone’s camera, he was able to determine that the object resembled a human body floating face up. However, visibility was hampered by the midday sun and glare on the water.

Attempts to contact the boat were unsuccessful due to the distance, and the eyewitness hurried to report the discovery to the shore. After replacing the drone’s battery, the search resumed, but only rocks were found. Time was passing, the battery was running low, and the search was becoming increasingly tense.

Three boats participated in the search operation: a rowboat, a hotel boat, and an inter-island boat. The growing despair in the group was palpable. One of the friends repeated in tears, ‘How am I going to tell his parents?’ while others called out the missing man’s name, ‘Pe, come home!’

Finally, with the third battery of the drone, the inter-island boat discovered the body just six or seven meters from the shore. The man was lying face down in the water. He was lifted on board, and CPR was performed for half an hour, both on the boat and on the beach. Unfortunately, all efforts were in vain, and he could not be saved.

According to a witness, the victim was swept out to sea by an invisible underwater current known as a rip current. Despite the calm and crystal-clear water, it concealed a deadly danger that led to the tragedy.

At around 3 p.m., the body was taken to Koh Mak Island. What was shocking was that with the arrival of new tourists, the usual beach activities resumed almost immediately. Some even took photos near the place where the drowning victim was being given first aid, unaware of the tragedy that had occurred.

At the end of his story, Nattapon Budhong wrote: ‘Every place has its own tragedies that we may not know about. The strange stories we hear often seem like figments of the imagination. But by remaining ignorant, we see nothing.’ The incident is yet another reminder of the need to exercise caution when swimming in the sea and to consider the possible risks, even if the water appears calm.

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