Wealthy Thai-Indian couple drown on Koh Tao

Rescue workers take the bodies of a Thai-Indian couple from the swimming pool of a hotel on Koh Tao in Surat Thani on Friday. (Photo by Nugoon Inthong via รู้ทันภัย รู้ทันข่าว Facebook page)
Rescue workers take the bodies of a Thai-Indian couple from the swimming pool of a hotel on Koh Tao in Surat Thani on Friday. (Photo by Nugoon Inthong via รู้ทันภัย รู้ทันข่าว Facebook page)

A wealthy Thai-Indian couple were found drowned in a hotel pool on Koh Tao while holidaying on the island.

Police found no signs of foul play.

Rakeshwar Sachathamakul, 59, and his wife Anshoo, 55, are believed to have died while swimming in the two-metre-deep pool at the Jamahkiri Resort & Spa on Friday.

Their son Ratish Sachathamakul, 34, alerted police at 4.45pm after he found his parents lying in the water. He called hotel staff for help but attempts to revive the couple failed.

Rakeshwar was the co-owner and CEO of the Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach hotel in Phuket and owned the Bangkapi Mansion apartments on Sukhumvit Soi 12 in Bangkok. He was the managing director of Wireform A.N. (Thailand) Co, a manufacturer.

Pol Col Kriangkrai Kraikaew, chief of Koh Tao police, told Thai media that the couple had visited the island for a holiday with their son. After checking into the hotel, they went for a walk. Their son left for a nearby beach while his parents went to the pool, according to the police investigation.

Police found no signs of a struggle or any other signs of foul play at the scene. Investigators were told that Rakeshwar had some underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.

CCTV cameras at the hotel had not been working for several months due to lack of maintenance. The hotel had not opened the swimming pool during the Covid-19 outbreak, said police.

Investigators believe that either Rakeshwar or his wife had got into trouble while swimming, and that the other had tried unsuccessfully to help.

Thai media reported that the couple’s son cast no doubt on the cause of his parents’ deaths. During an initial examination of the bodies, a doctor concluded that the couple died due to lack of oxygen to the brain.

Vocabulary

  • alert: to tell someone in about a danger or problem so that they can take action to deal with it - เตือนภัย
  • CCTV: a television system that works within a limited area, for example a public building, to observe what is happening there and often to protect it from crime - โทรทัศน์วงจรปิด (ซีซีทีวี)
  • doubt: a feeling of being uncertain about something/someone or not believing something - ความสงสัย
  • drown: to sink under water and die - จมน้ำ
  • foul play: violence or criminal action that causes someone’s death - อาชญากรรม
  • lack (verb): to not have something - ขาด
  • maintenance: the act of keeping something in good condition by checking or repairing it regularly - การซ่อมบำรุง
  • manufacturer: a person or company that manufactures a product - ผู้ผลิต
  • revive: to come or bring something back to existence or use - ฟื้นฟู, ทำให้เกิดขึ้นอีก
  • struggle: a difficult fight or an attempt to defeat someone - การต่อสู้เพื่อความอยู่รอด
  • underlying (adj): important in a situation but not always easily noticed or stated clearly; existing under the surface of something else - ที่สำคัญและซ่อนอยู่, ที่อยู่ในตำแหน่งต่ำกว่า
  • wealthy: having a large amount of money, land, and other valuable things   - ที่มั่งคั่ง ร่ำรวย
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