Sunghyun Cho, 37, was on a dive tour to see coral reefs at Ao Lah, the northernmost bay on the east side of the island, when he began moving frantically as if experiencing breathing difficulties, according to initial reports.
Pongsathorn Madnui, the 34-year-old Thai dive instructor leading Mr Cho on his dive, went to Mr Cho’s assistance, but both men “collapsed” before reaching the surface.
The dive was reportedly to a depth of no more than seven metres.
The men were pulled onto the boat, which took them to shore at Chalong Pier before they were taken to the Accident & Emergency unit of the yet-to-open Chalong Hospital, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive them. (See story here.)
Capt Somkiat Sarasit of the Chalong Police, the officer investigating the deaths, told The Phuket News that he had confirmed that Mr Pongsathorn was a qualified dive instructor.
He also confirmed that Mr Pongsathorn was hired as a freelance dive instructor to join the dive tour.
Capt Somkiat would not confirm which company had hired Mr Pongsathorn to join the dive tour to Racha Yai last Saturday, though initial reports identified the company as Island Wonders Co Ltd.
Of the circumstances directly related to the two drowning deaths on the dive tour, Capt Somkiat said, “In the trip, each instructor was responsible to take care of two tourists.”
Including Mr Cho, there were 40 tourists on the boat on the day.
Capt Somkiat declined to answer further questions.
“My investigation is not finished yet. There will be no charge against the company until the investigation is finished. Now I need to investigate the cause of death and learn more details. I need to talk with witnesses,” was all he would say.
Regarding Mr Pongsathorn’s qualification as a dive instructor, Chalong Police Chief Col Terdtoon Soisukphaphan told The Phuket News, “We still waiting to see Mr Pongsathorn’s scuba diving certification to confirm his qualification to do such work. Even though Mr Pongsathorn’s sister has told us that he had an instructor’s certificate, we have yet to see it.
“I also have not received any information about registered tour guides on the dive tour yet. We must wait for the relevant officer to conclude his investigation before we can reveal any more details,” Col Terdtoon added.
Col Terdtoon did confirm that the police investigation will include an inspection of the dive equipment Mr Cho was using at the time of his death.
“All the breathing apparatus – the air tanks, compressor and filter system – are here at Chalong Police Station,” he said.
“We have spoken with Forensic Police about this, but they said they do not have any officers qualified for investigating this equipment. At this stage I don’t which officials can conduct a proper inspection. We are looking for a specialists to check these things for us,” Col Terdtoon added.