The first incident occurred yesterday morning (Nov 3), when Dmitrii Zakutskii, 31, from Russia, went missing while swimming with friends at the southern end of Nai Thon Beach. Witnesses told police that a strong wave pulled him under, and he failed to resurface.
Sakhu Police were notified of the incident at about 10:14am, prompting an immediate search involving lifeguards, rescue teams from the Sakhu Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) and the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation.
The search continued throughout the day and into today (Nov 4), when officers from the Thalang District Office, the Sakhu village headman and Bang Tao lifeguards joined the operation using jet-skis to scan the area. Mr Zakutskii’s body was found at about 5pm today.
Earlier this afternoon (Nov 4), a second drowning was reported at Nai Thon Beach when Myanmar national Kyaw Soe Naing, 22, was pulled from the surf at around 2:30pm.
Rescuers from Sakhu Rescue brought him ashore and administered first aid before transporting him to Thalang Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Officials have renewed warnings for beachgoers to stay out of the water, as red flags remain in place along Phuket’s west coast due to powerful waves and rip currents during the monsoon season.