Myanmar national ignores warning flags, drowns at Karon Beach

PHUKET: A Myanmar teenager swimming in an area marked with red flags drowned at Karon Beach yesterday.

Mr Pannyo, 17, had gone to the beach with two friends around 3pm, said Uten Singsom, head lifeguard at Kata-Karon beaches.

“They were at the beach around low tide. Mr Pannyo’s friends stayed close to shore, but he swam out about 30 meters,” Mr Uten told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “Lifeguards saw that he was too far out and tried to warn him, but it was too late.”

As guards headed toward Mr Pannyo and his friends to warn them, they saw the waves begin to drag Mr Pannyo out to sea.

“Five lifeguards jumped into action. Three started searching for him by jet-ski, one swam out and the other took one of our surf boards out,” Mr Uten said.

It took lifeguards about 90 minutes to find Mr Pannyo’s body.

— Irfarn Jamdukor