PHANGNGA: A French man drowned while snorkelling off the Similan islands on Friday afternoon.
The 66-year-old tourist, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, was snorkelling near Koh 9 in Mu Koh Similan National Park and lost consciousness, said officials at the Thai Maritime Enforcement Centre Region 3. They were alerted by the Port Security Control Centre in Phangnga at about 3 pm.
The man was brought to shore where medics and officials from a navy security unit administered first aid, but they found he had no pulse. He was rushed to the Khao Lak Medical Centre and later pronounced dead, according to nurses there.
It was the second drowning incident in the past week in the area. Last Saturday, a 44-year-old Chinese man drowned while swimming off Koh 7 in the island group.