2 foreigners found dead in Pattaya

CHON BURI: Police are investigating the deaths of a Russian woman and a Hong Kong man who died in separate incidents in Pattaya yesterday.

Early yesterday, a Russian woman drowned in the swimming pool of a condominium in tambon Na Klua, local police said.

Pol Capt Manod Thipvej, deputy investigation chief of Pattaya police, said the drowning occurred about 3am at the swimming pool of the condominium in Soi Na Klua 12 in tambon Na Klua of Bang Lamung district.

Police and rescuers, arriving at the scene, found the Russian woman, identified as Zimina Svetlana, 51, lying by the side of the pool.

Chuay Monsanthia, 60, a condo security guard, said he was on duty at the entrance of the condo when he heard shouts from tourists calling for help, saying a friend of theirs was drowning.

It is not known how she ended up swimming at that hour of the morning.

He went to the pool and found the woman had been taken out of the water. She was apparently still alive at the time. He called the police and Pattaya City rescuers, a rescue group, but the woman died before they arrived.

The woman’s Russian husband, a retired policeman, was notified and turned up upon learning of the incident.

The body of the woman was sent to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok for a post-mortem examination. Results are not yet in.

Also in Pattaya, a Hong Kong man died after falling from the 5th floor of Mike Shopping Mall on Pattaya Beach Road on Saturday at 7pm, police said.

Police and rescuers found the man, identified as Kwok Siu Chung, 52, lying face down on the ground floor of the shopping mall.

Rescuers gave the injured man firstaid treatment before transferring him to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Pattaya police were investigating the cause of the fall.