NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: The body of a British diver found dead at a popular diving site last month has been cremated, and his ashes will be taken home by his son.
Roger Smith, 60, was cremated at Artapikhirikhet forest monastery in Thung Yai district on Monday.
Smith, a resident of Thailand, died during a diving trip in Talay Songkhon park with his friends on Dec 21. Doctors at Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital concluded he died from decompression sickness, also known as the bends.
The body had been kept at the hospital until the cremation.
Smith was a Buddhist and his British family had agreed to local cremation and religious rites. The ceremony was attended by local residents and Thung Yai police chief Pol Col Chokdee Rakwattanapong.
The dead man's son, Jason Stuart, thanked residents of Thung Yai for helping arrange the cremation. Mr Stuart said he intended to return to Britain on Tuesday, and would take some of his father's ashes back with him.
Jason Stuart (second left) participates in a rite to invite the soul of his father, Roger Smith, for cremation. (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun)