Canadian sisters found dead in Phi Phi hotel

[charlesh]

Thai media are reporting that two Canadian sisters have been found dead in their hotel room in a southern resort island.

Thai media reported on Saturday that the bodies of the sisters were found at the Phi Phi Palm Residence Hotel on Phi Phi Island. The cause of death was under investigation.

The Manager newspaper website quoted police Lt Col Rat Somboon as saying the women had probably been dead more than 12 hours when their bodies were discovered on Friday with vomit and other signs of a toxic reaction.

In a similar case in May 2009, an American woman and a Norwegian woman died after suffering severe vomiting and dehydration at a Phi Phi guesthouse. The cause of death was never determined.

Haven't the Thais heard of forensic science??

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... -a-mystery

[johnnyk]

They are bringng the bodies to BKK.
I suspect there is a lack of forensic science experts, facilities and equipment on a small resort island like PhiPhi.

[Korkenzieher]

Phi-phi just has a small clinic, and I think only a resident nurse. If memory serves me correctly, the doctor does a round and is only there certain days. No facilities worthy of the name.

The Canadian girls' death sounds strange, but any number of possibilities from serious seafood poisoning to massive anaphylactic shock, to foul play are all still available. I'm waiting to see the news on this one since, as mentioned, it isn't the first time.

[dtaai-maai]

Charlesh, would you mind agreeing to ask the mods to change the title of this thread?

Experience suggests family of the deceased often look at Thai forums when a tragedy like this happens, and IMO the current title is a bit... frivolous.

[PeteC]

Police baffled over death of sisters

Published: 18/06/2012 at 02:12 AM
Online news: Local News

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... of-sisters (Photos)

Krabi police are struggling to find clues about the mysterious death of two Canadian sisters at their hotel room on Koh Phi Phi.

The tourists' corpses will be sent for further autopsies at a better-equipped hospital in Songkhla or Bangkok.

Muang Krabi police chief Thaksin Pochakorn said there were no signs of a struggle in their rooms or on their bodies, and investigators were looking for other possible causes of the deaths.

"We are waiting for the post-mortem examination of the victims' inner organs to see if there are any traces of toxic substances," Pol Col Thaksin said.

The bodies of Noemi Belanger, 26 and Audrey Belanger, 20, were found in their hotel room on Koh Phi Phi off Krabi province on Friday.

The holidaying sisters checked in at Phi Phi Palms Residence in tambon Ao Nang of Muang district last Tuesday.

Witnesses said the women went out and returned to the room late at night and did not come out in the morning.

Concerned hotel staff used a master key to enter the ground-floor room.

Police said large amounts of vomit were found in the room and the women had bleeding gums and bleeding under the skin. Their nails appeared to be blackened.

Krabi hospital director Komgrib Phukittayakamee said Sunday the women's bodies, which were being kept at his hospital, will be sent for a post-mortem examination at either the Police General Hospital in Bangkok or at Songklanagarind Hospital.

Dr Komgrib said he and Phi Phi hospital director Duangporn Paothong had jointly examined the dead bodies of the tourists and found they had suffered no physical injuries. It was too soon to pinpoint the cause of the deaths, he said, adding that bleeding gums and bleeding under the skin were not always linked to poisoning.

Such symptoms are usually found on diseased people, the doctor said.

Canadian embassy officials had arrived at the hospital to talk to the authorities about the pathology tests, he said.

Dr Komgrib said health authorities would not issue any health advisory to tourists and residents until they received more information from the autopsy and pathology testing results, expected in the next few days.

Phi Phi Palms Residence, where the women stayed, opened in 2009.

The two-storey lodging is about a two-minute walk from the famous Loh Dalum beach on the island.

[H2ODunc]

As well as the Thai papers it has already hit the UK papers as well. I doesn't sound like any food poisoning I have ever heard of. Skin lesions bleeding under the fingernails and a blue colour. A poisoning of some sort but I very much doubt it will turn out to be any type of food responsible.
Why did they not attempt to get any medical treatment ?
RIP the young ladies.

[Takiap]

Tragic loss of life, so hopefully the authorities will determine the cause.

RIP.

[Dr Michael]

The bleeding gums and bleeding beneath the skin has to be due to masssive anti-coagulation, This can occur in several terminal events but rarely so fast acting. It sounds like a toxin of some sort.

Stinging by Box jellyfish comes to mind, but this usually starts with intense pain in a few minutes, not hours later.

[Nereus]

The bleeding gums and bleeding beneath the skin has to be due to masssive anti-coagulation, This can occur in several terminal events but rarely so fast acting. It sounds like a toxin of some sort.

Stinging by Box jellyfish comes to mind, but this usually starts with intense pain in a few minutes, not hours later.

I was just wondering if they may have unknowingly eaten a "puffer" fish? Although if that was the case I guess that there would have been other people affected.
Very sad with such young people involved. R.I.P.

[H2ODunc]

It is now being reported that it may as Online has said the result of eating puffer fish though I would have thought there would be more than just the two people ill if that was the case. The toxin in that is supposed to kill in an hour after eating it. I still fail to understand why they didn't manage to call for help or even text someone to say they were ill. Being young has anybody checked whether they had a Facebook page and whether that was updated to mention being ill ?
I wonder whether this will just be allowed to fade away or whether the truth will finally be found.
I feel for the family, it must be awful to go through something like this and be so far away.

[Korkenzieher]

Toxic mushrooms have also been fingered as a possibility. It seems the girls last eating place is known, so it ought to be relatively easy to trace those. In an isolated case like that, if it had just been a beach barbecue of something that someone caught and didn't recognise, then I could understand it - but not so easy in a restaurant.

[Takiap]

The bleeding gums and bleeding beneath the skin has to be due to masssive anti-coagulation, This can occur in several terminal events but rarely so fast acting. It sounds like a toxin of some sort.

Stinging by Box jellyfish comes to mind, but this usually starts with intense pain in a few minutes, not hours later.

I was just wondering if they may have unknowingly eaten a "puffer" fish? Although if that was the case I guess that there would have been other people affected.
Very sad with such young people involved. R.I.P.

My wife and I watched a program a few years ago, and it was all about Thai vendors selling puffer fish illegally. Apparently the vendors get the fish for next to nothing, so profits are very good. The documentary was actually about undercover inspectors posing as sellers and as customers, and they caught several vendors, including many restaurant owners and a few canning companies that were selling the fish under another name. Puffer fish can be eaten, but they need to be properly prepared, and apparently even a small slip up can end up causing a fatality.

I doubt mushrooms were the cause. Practically all Thais know which mushrooms can be eaten and which ones are best avoided. They grow up picking mushrooms, and besides, I'm don't thing Thailand really has too many "toxic" mushrooms.


Nevertheless, very sad, and I too feel for their parents.

[PeteC]

Nevertheless, very sad, and I too feel for their parents.

Indeed, that's the real point. Kids on vacation away from home, maybe for the first time so far away,...maybe their only kids.....and word comes they are both dead. I can't fathom what I would feel or do if it happened to me. RIP girls. Pete

[johnnyk]

Update from the Toronto Star this morning:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/arti ... ly-arrives

[caller]

JK - will the Canadian authorities perform their own tests on the girls? Especially In view of the previous incident at Phi-Phi and the more recent attempt of a cover-up at Chaing Mai.