A Taiwanese man was rescued by lifeguards yesterday morning, June 22nd, off the coast of Patong Beach following an apparent suicide attempt.
The 25-year-old man had been reportedly walking along the southern end of Patong Beach, crying and in a severe state of depression when he entered the water.
His friend, another Taiwanese national, altered the police around 7.30 am after the man disappeared into the waves. Lifeguards were alerted about the incident at 7.45 am, and a search began.
However, the initial search at the southern end of Patong Beach, where the man had entered the water, was unsuccessful. A team of lifeguards and police quickly expanded the search and eventually found the man in the water near Loma Park.
At first, the 25-year-old attempted to swim away from his rescuers. Eventually, the lifeguards convinced him to come out of the water, and he was taken ashore some 1.6 kilometers away from where he entered the water at around 8.15 am.
His friend, who had notified the police about the incident, said that the man was in a deep state of grief following the passing of his uncle and had been drinking alcohol before entering the water.
Maj Chanan Makchai of the Patong Police who received the notification said:
“He was depressed and wanted to commit suicide by walking to the sea and drown.”
Source: Facebook/PatongLifeguardClub2019
