A 54-year-old Swiss man was crushed to death by a malfanctioning elevator at a hotel in Patong beach, Phuket, in the early hours of Friday, police said.
The tourist was caught in a jammed elevator at the third floor of Baan Paradise hotel on Soi Paradise off Rat-U-Thit Road, said Pol Maj Theerasak Boonsaeng, a duty officer at Kathu police station.
He was alerted to the incident around 2.20am on Friday.
When the elevator's doors were forced open by police and rescue workers, they found the man’s head had been crushed by the elevator. He died of suffocation, police said.
A police officer interrogates a hotel mechanic about the malfanctioning elevator that resulted in the death of a Swiss tourist. (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran)
The victim sustained a fractured skull and severe bruising to his body. Police found a hotel room key in his pocket. His body was taken to Patong Hospital for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death.
Police said the tourist was staying alone in a room on the fourth floor of the five-storey hotel. Before the tragedy was discovered, the reception staff heard the sound of an elevator malfunctioning. They rushed to the elevator and found the indicator light flashing for the third floor. When they could not open the elevator doors on the third floor, they called police.
Police said it was likely the man entered the elevator at the fourth floor, and on the way down it became stuck near the third floor. Possibly, he tried to force his way out but instead fell into a space between the elevator and the third floor level.
Police were investigating.