Body of Irish man (50) found at sea near Thai beach resort

An Irish man’s body bearing signs of injury has been found floating around one kilometre off the shore of the popular Thai beach resort of Pattaya, local media has reported.

The man was wearing only shorts and was face down in the water, the Bangkok Post newspaper quoted police in Pattaya as saying. The passport in his pocket identified the man as a 50-year-old Irish national.

Pattaya is located around 160 kilometres south of the Thai capital Bangkok and is one of Thailand’s busiest tourist destinations, attracting around five million visitors a year, including thousands of Irish tourists.

The police were informed at around 8.30am local time that the body of a foreigner had been found at sea and a team was sent to recover it.

The police believed he drowned, but did not know the circumstances, the report said, and his body was being sent for a postmortem examination. Relatives were also being informed.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the reports around the death but had not received a request for consular assistance in this case. “We stand ready to provide assistance if requested,” she said.

In February last year a 49-year-old Irishman plunged to his death from the 36th floor of a Pattaya apartment building, while in May an Irish tourist was reportedly attacked by a transgender prostitute.