According to Matichon newspaper, at a press conference held on the evening of July 16, Thai police announced that they had found six foreigners, three men and three women, dead in a room at the luxury Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok. Authorities arrived at the scene after receiving an emergency call from the hotel at approximately 5:30 PM that day.
The victims have been identified as four Vietnamese citizens and two Vietnamese-Americans, aged between 37 and 56. Of these, only Mr. Dang Van Hung and Mr. Pham Thanh Hong had visited Thailand once. The rest had entered the Southeast Asian country multiple times, with Mr. Tran Dinh Phu and Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan having visited more than 10 times, according to VietNamNet.
Investigators found no bruises or injuries on the victims' bodies, nor any signs of a struggle. Their luggage was found near the front door of the room.
PBS quoted a Thai police representative as saying that the group of foreign tourists are believed to have died from poisoning. However, authorities are still investigating other causes. Meanwhile, some local news agencies reported that the victims may have been poisoned with cyanide.
Police suspect the victims died within the previous 24 hours, possibly sometime after 1:55 PM on July 15th. Notably, the hotel room door where the bodies were found was locked from the inside when housekeeping staff attempted to do their work on the afternoon of July 16th. Autopsies are underway to determine what the victims had eaten or drunk.
Food and drinks were found in the hotel room along with the victims' bodies. Photo: Matichon
Investigators found a total of six drinks, each with a small amount of white powdery residue at the bottom. The food displayed in the room had not been touched. In the bathroom, police found some tea, energy drinks, and honey.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (holding the microphone) presides over the press conference. Screenshot from Khaosod.
According to Lieutenant General Thiti Saengswang of the Bangkok Police, the group of seven guests booked five rooms on the 5th and 7th floors of the hotel last weekend, but only five checked in on July 13th and 14th. The guests in the four rooms on the 7th floor were scheduled to check out on the afternoon of July 15th and had already moved their luggage to rooms on the 5th floor. The entire group planned to check out on July 15th.
Five of the deceased matched the information registered at the hotel, but the sixth had not checked in and the seventh had not yet appeared. Police are investigating their backgrounds and are also searching for the seventh person.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin held a meeting with police officials and other Thai authorities at the hotel on the evening of July 16. Photo: Matichon
Authorities are searching the scene at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel on July 16. Photo: Matichon
Currently, the Bangkok Metropolitan Police and the Thai Immigration Police have agreed on the following three lines of investigation:
Verify whether the seventh person actually entered Thailand.
Gather all the details about the six individuals through embassies and the victims' social media accounts.
Without a seventh person present, the police began investigating possible motives.
Thai investigators, in coordination with the embassy, examined all luggage in the room, searching for any evidence or clues to determine whether all the individuals committed suicide or were killed by someone else.
Currently, based on the photos, the victims' fingernails and toenails appear dark, but this could be due to the bodies having been dead for about 24 hours. Autopsies will be conducted at Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross.
The Central Forensic Science Unit of Thailand will examine every detail at the scene, including fingerprints and bloodstains. In addition, a team of toxicology experts has been called in to investigate.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Police Chief emphasized that Thai police have not yet concluded whether the victim was drugged. Thai police currently need to verify if there was a seventh person involved. Forensic evidence, along with other evidence, will provide the answer. If everything is satisfactory, they will be able to determine the cause of death.
"We are currently searching for the seventh person because the number doesn't match the registration records. If they arrived together, there should be travel information, seat numbers, and airline details. We need to verify whether the seventh person actually entered the country. We have asked the embassy to check the occupations of the deceased and their purpose for coming to Thailand. We are also questioning the food service staff to see if they noticed anything unusual," said Police Lieutenant General Thiti Saengsawang, according to Lao Dong newspaper.
The Thai Prime Minister emphasized that the incident was unexpected but would not negatively impact the country's tourism industry. He also ordered authorities to take urgent steps to reassure the public and tourists.
KHANH LINH (Compiled)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/vu-nguoi-viet-tu-vong-o-thai-lan-canh-sat-dang-truy-lung-nguoi-thu-7-204240717101116234.htm
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