RANONG — A resident of Ranong province discovered the body of a foreign tourist beneath a 2-meter high bridge near the National Telecommunications Company office in Ranong. Local citizens immediately alerted traffic police stationed near the provincial tourism festival to investigate.
Ranong City Police, who received the report at 6:00 p.m. on March 12, were dispatched to inspect the Klong Rahat bridge in Khao Niwet Subdistrict, Mueang Ranong District. The location was approximately 100 meters from the 2025 Annual Ranong Hot Spring Tourism Festival.
The villager who discovered the body reported that while looking down beneath the 2-meter high bridge with tall grass below, he spotted a man lying face down on the canal embankment wall and quickly notified authorities.
Upon learning the deceased was a foreign tourist, Police Major General Thanawat Wattanakul, Commander of Ranong Provincial Police, personally inspected the scene. He ordered an investigative team to urgently locate witnesses and review CCTV footage from nearby areas. Authorities later identified the deceased as Mr. Marco, a 65-year-old Italian national.
Residents living across the canal reported hearing dogs barking intensely after midnight. A motorcycle taxi driver added that he had seen a foreign man walking unsteadily near the festival entrance the night before, though he couldn’t confirm if it was the same person.
By 7:00 p.m., the forensic team from Ranong Hospital and the provincial forensic unit released preliminary autopsy results, revealing that Mr. Marco had died approximately 8-10 hours before his body was discovered. No signs of physical assault were found.
Investigators believe he likely died from falling and hitting the ground after stepping over a water pipe to urinate at the bridge head (a spot commonly used by locals for this purpose), losing his footing, falling, and fatally hitting his head on a hard surface.
Officials will contact the Italian Embassy to notify the deceased’s relatives.
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