6 tourists, including 4 Vietnamese and 2 Vietnamese Americans, are said to have died of poisoning at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Pathum Wan district, Bangkok, according to the Bangkok Post .
Bangkok police received notice of the incident at around 5:30 p.m. on July 16 (local time).
Police found three men and three women dead in a room, with no signs of struggle. Their luggage was found near the front door.
Matichon reported that the hotel recorded a group of 7 guests, booking 4 rooms on the 5th floor and one room on the 7th floor over the weekend. Only 5 people checked in to the hotel, on July 13 and 14 respectively.
All are expected to check out on the afternoon of July 15. Their luggage was packed and ready.
The investigation agency said that the group of guests definitely knew each other because they carried the same luggage but did not leave because they could not find the person they were supposed to pick up. According to initial information from the hotel, the group of guests has not yet completed the room payment procedures.
No bruises were found on the victims' bodies. According to initial investigation results, authorities confirmed that the victims died of poisoning. However, it is still unclear whether they committed suicide or were poisoned by others.
Major General Theeradet Thumsuthee, investigation commander of the Bangkok City Police Department, confirmed that it was possible that six people died from poisoning and that they appeared to have consumed coffee and tea in the room.
The victims' meals have not yet been eaten. While the cup was empty and it seemed like they had drunk something.
Only one victim suffered facial injuries and police believe this person fell on a hard object. Two victims, a man and a woman, appeared to have tried to reach the door of the room. The room was locked from the inside when the authorities arrived at the scene.
Two of the dead were identified as Sherine Chong, 56 years old, and Dang Van Hung, 55 years old. Both are Vietnamese-American.
The remaining four people are Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47 years old, Pham Hong Thanh, 49 years old, Tran Dinh Phu, 37 years old and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46 - all Vietnamese citizens.
Police believe these people died about 24 hours before being discovered.
Authorities believe that there may also be a Vietnamese person - the 7th member of the group, also present at the scene. Local authorities are looking for this person.
Authorities denied rumors that this incident was related to theft or shooting.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin arrived at the scene on the evening of July 16 and worked with Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung.
Mr. Srettha affirmed that the incident happened unexpectedly but will not have any negative impact on the tourism industry.
The Thai Prime Minister asked the authorities to urgently take measures to reassure tourists and the public.
According to the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, immediately after receiving information related to the incident, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung and Embassy officials arrived at the scene.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand is closely coordinating with Thai authorities and relevant units of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to closely monitor the case, clarify information, and determine the identities of the victims. victims, ready to deploy necessary citizen protection measures.
