A man is missing and presumed drowned after he and his brothers entered the sea during dangerous surf conditions at Karon Beach in Phuket on Friday evening, September 21.
Karon Police were alerted to the incident at around 6.30pm. Three Bahraini men had entered the water despite red warning flags being clearly posted along the shoreline. All three were swept into deep water by strong waves.
Lifeguards managed to rescue two of the men, identified as 32 year old Ahmed Ramadan Almeshakhas and his brother, Mohamed Ramadan Almeshakhas. Mohamed sustained minor injuries and was taken to Patong Hospital for treatment.
Their elder brother, Jasim Abdali Almeshakhas, could not be found. Rescue teams continued searching into the night.
The three men had arrived in Phuket on September 14 and were staying at a hotel in Patong. Police have recorded the incident and are coordinating with lifeguards and local rescue teams to recover the missing man’s body, reported Phuket News.
Authorities are once again urging beachgoers to respect red-flag warnings, which signal strong rip currents and dangerous surf during the monsoon season.
Similarly, a Russian tourist drowned at Karon Beach earlier this year after entering the sea despite red-flag warnings.
The incident occurred on June 10 at around 11.40am. Emergency responders and police arrived at the scene to find lifeguards had already recovered the man’s body. He was pronounced dead at the beach.
According to police, the tourist had entered the water that morning around 10am with his wife and son, both of whom survived, and witnessed the incident.
In another related incident, a Russian man drowned while saving his girlfriend during a late-night swim between Banana and Nai Thon beaches in Phuket.
He drowned just after midnight on August 21 near the Andaman White Beach Resort in Thalang district. At around 12.30am, 24 year old Kamila Sharipova sought help after her boyfriend, 35 year old Denis Nonenkov, disappeared beneath the waves.
Sharipova told rescuers the couple had entered the sea when they were suddenly hit by a strong wave. Nonenkov managed to push her toward the shore but was unable to escape the current himself.
The story Bahraini tourist missing after ignoring red flags at Phuket beach as seen on Thaiger News.
