Police were alerted to the incident at around 2.40am, when the tourist, a woman from Doncaster*, was pronounced dead at Patong Hospital.
According to initial investigations, the woman had been out dining and drinking with her boyfriend earlier in the evening. The couple were returning to their hotel on Rath-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd when the accident occurred, police reported.
Police said the woman, believed to be intoxicated at the time, fell six to seven metres from a walkway while ascending the building. The fall caused multiple injuries including a broken neck, fractured nose, facial bruising and broken bones in her wrist and ankle.
Hotel staff immediately contacted the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation and emergency services, who transported the woman to Patong Hospital. Despite efforts to save her, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after arrival.
Police said they have requested a post-mortem examination as standard protocol and are working with the British Embassy to notify the woman’s family.
Arrangements are being made for the repatriation of her body or local religious rites, pending the family’s wishes, police said.
* The Phuket News is withholding the woman’s name until it has been confirmed her next of kin have been notified.