Investigation after four deaths in Thai hotel
Thai police are investigating the deaths of four people who fell ill at the same hotel within less than three weeks.
An elderly British couple, a young New Zealand woman, and a Thai tour guide all died after being taken ill at the Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai last month.
In an interview with Asia Pacific News, the hotel’s acting manager Vinai Julsiri said the deaths were a coincidence.
"The news about the hotel’s mystery death is really bad for our business. It was not true," he said. "There is nothing wrong or dangerous in our hotel."
The first death was on February 3, when a 47-year-old Thai woman was found dead in the bathroom of her room.
It is believed she had an existing medical condition but investigators are still waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination.
Within days a 23-year-old New Zealand woman arrived at the hotel with two friends and all three fell ill. She was rushed to hospital and later died, while her two friends recovered.
Her father is calling on the Thai and New Zealand authorities to close the hotel until a thorough investigation has been made.
The retired British couple, George and Eileen Everitt from Lincolnshire in their 70s, had checked in to the hotel on February 9 and were found dead in their room 10 days later.
Police captain Wichian Chaichompu said: "The doctor didn’t find any trace of toxic substance or drug in their bodies. We didn’t see any sign of fighting or attack."
Police are still waiting for autopsy results.
By TravelMole Asia
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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