Foreign tourists die mysteriously in Thailand

Almaty. April 19. Kazakhstan Today - The death toll in Chiang Mai, Thailand, continues to rise with a seventh person now identified as having died in similar circumstances to a young New Zealand tourist, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Canadian Bill Mah, 59, died after using the facilities of the Downtown Inn - the same hotel linked to the deaths of an elderly British couple, a Thai tourist guide and 23-year-old New Zealand tourist Sarah Carter, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Ms Carter died in hospital from a heart inflammation two days after she and two friends became sick while staying at the Inn, which is in the heart of Chiang Mai next to the popular Night Bazaar markets.

Two other women, who were not staying at the Inn, have also died in the city in similar circumstances within a month. Thai authorities deny any link between the deaths, but victims' families are demanding answers, with some alleging there is a cover-up into the real cause.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said last night he had asked for more information about the latest death. "Obviously that lends some weight to the concerns we have expressed previously."

Details about Bill Mah have emerged after his friend Ken Fraser raised questions about his death.

Mr Mah wasn't staying at the Downtown Inn, but Mr Fraser said the 59-year-old had used the hotel's facilities, including the swimming pool, for which coupons were available in his own hotel.

Mr Mah had been in Chiang Mai for two weeks before falling ill at a dinner party on January 24. The next morning, he complained of lack of sleep because of chest pains and was taken to hospital, where tests ruled out a heart attack.

He was sent home two days later with medication for acid reflux but was found dead in his room that night.

Mr Fraser said his friend had only just retired from work after having gone 25 years without missing a single day through illness.

A report states "suspected natural disease pending lab reports and toxicology" as the cause of death, but Mr Fraser said those results and the official cause of death had not been released. "I know Bill used the facilities at the Downtown Inn because he asked me to go there with him but I had other things to do. What natural disease are they saying he had?"

Mr Mah's friends and relatives are now joining a chorus of people who believe Thai authorities are playing down the presence of a virus.

Four other tourists were found dead in their hotel rooms while another died at a hospital. They have died in a hotel in Chiangmai, Thailand, within a period of 16 days. The deceased were three tourists and a local tour guide, Whats On Sanya informs. Police have ruled out foul play.

The first victim was tour guide Waraporn Yingmahasaranont, whose body was found in front of the bathroom in her room on the fifth floor.

The 47-year-old had serious diarrhoea before her death on Feb 3.

On Feb 18, New Zealander Sarah Carter, 23 - who also stayed on the fifth floor - died of food poisoning.

Hotel staff brought Carter and her two foreign friends, who had consumed barbecued pork and chicken, to the hospital after they fell ill.

Carter died while her friends recovered and have left Thailand.

The next night, an elderly British couple died in their room on the fourth floor.

George Everly, 78, and Elean, 74, died of an unusual enlargement of their heart muscles with blocked arteries, police said.

Ms Carter's father, Richard Carter, believes there is a cover-up. He has called for the Downtown Inn to be closed until the truth is uncovered and would like to see an independent investigation into the deaths.

The Herald understands an initial swab result has suggested Ms Carter had contracted echovirus. The disease is linked to dirty and overcrowded conditions but Thai police have given the all-clear to the Downtown Inn.

Thailand's Department for Disease Control said it could not find links between the deaths or a link to the Downtown Inn, which is owned by a former mayor of the city.

Photo: The New Zealand Herald

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