PHUKET — An American man took his Thai wife and their 3-and-a-half-year-old child to go swimming in the sea in Phuket province on Sunday afternoon, which should have been a happy holiday. However, they encountered a tragedy when a wave swept him away.
Officers from Chalong Police Station in Phuket received a report of a drowning incident at Nai Han Beach, Rawai Subdistrict. They went to investigate and notified the diving team from the Phuket Kusoldham Foundation and Rawai Municipality officials to inspect and conduct a search.
Arun Solos, the mayor of Rawai Subdistrict, said that at 4:45 p.m., while the three were in the sea about 10 meters from the shore, they were pulled by the current into deeper waters. The Thai wife managed to bring herself back to shore. Then, lifeguards went out to rescue the 3-and-a-half-year-old son back to shore, but the American man was swept away by the waves and disappeared.
The diving team from the Phuket Kusoldham Foundation tried to search for Mr. James Everett Du Bois, 49 years old, with great difficulty due to the rising tide and strong winds. Until 8:30 p.m., when it was dark, the foundation’s underwater operation team had to suspend the dive for safety reasons and will resume the search on the morning of Monday, June 10.
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