Police are looking for the seventh person.

According to Matichon newspaper, at a press conference held on the evening of July 16, Thai police said they had discovered six foreigners, including 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 around 5:30 p.m. the same day.

The victims were 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 only been to Thailand once. The rest had entered the Southeast Asian country multiple times, including Mr. Tran Dinh Phu and Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, who had been there more than 10 times, according to VietNamNet.

Investigators found no bruises or injuries on the victims’ bodies and no 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 were believed to have died of poisoning. However, authorities are still investigating other causes. Meanwhile, some local news agencies reported that the victims may have been poisoned by cyanide.

Police suspect the victims died within the previous 24 hours, possibly after 1:55 p.m. on July 15. Notably, the hotel room door where the bodies were found was locked from the inside when housekeeping staff attempted to do their job on the afternoon of July 16. Autopsies are being conducted to determine what the victims had eaten and 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 in the room had not been touched. In the bathroom, police found some tea, energy drinks, and honey.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (holding microphone) chairs a press conference. Khaosod screenshot

According to Lieutenant General Thiti Saengswang of the Bangkok Police, the group of seven guests booked five rooms on the fifth and seventh floors of the hotel last weekend, but only five people checked in on July 13 and 14. The guests staying in four rooms on the seventh floor were scheduled to check out on the afternoon of July 15 and had packed their luggage and moved to their rooms on the fifth floor. The entire group planned to check out on July 15.

Five of the dead matched the hotel registration information, but the sixth person had not checked in and the seventh person had not shown up. Police are investigating their backgrounds and are searching for the seventh person.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin meets with Thai police officials and 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 investigation directions:

Verify whether the 7th person actually entered Thailand.

Collect all details about 6 individuals through embassies and social media accounts of the victims.

Without a seventh person, police began investigating suspicious motives.

The Thai investigation team coordinated with the embassy to check all the luggage in the room, looking for any evidence or clues to determine whether all the individuals committed suicide or were committed by someone else.

At present, based on the photos, the victims' fingernails and toenails appear to be dark, but this may be because the bodies have been dead for approximately 24 hours. Autopsies will be conducted at Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society.

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 stressed that Thai police have not yet concluded whether the victim was drugged. Thai police now need to verify whether there was a seventh person. Forensic evidence along with other evidence will provide the answer. If everything is in order, they will be able to determine the cause.

"We are now looking for the seventh person because the number does not match the registration records. If they arrived together, there should be travel information, seat number and airline details. We need to verify whether the seventh person actually entered the country. We have asked the embassy to check the occupation of the deceased and the purpose of their visit 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.

The Thai Prime Minister stressed that the incident was unexpected but would not have a negative impact on the country's tourism industry. He also ordered authorities to take urgent steps to reassure the public and tourists.

KHANH LINH (T/H)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/vu-nguoi-viet-tu-vong-o-thai-lan-canh-sat-dang-truy-lung-nguoi-thu-7-204240717101116234.htm