Tourist falls to his death from train ‘while trying to take a selfie’ on ‘death railroad’ in Thailand
An Irish tourist fell to his death after leaning out of a moving train in Thailand to take pictures, police said.
The man was identified as 45-year-old Patrick Ward, whose passport said he was born in New Zealand but is also an Irish national. He travelled to Thailand on December 26 on a tourist visa.
It is understood that Mr Ward had leaned out of the moving railway train to take holiday snaps of his travels. Local media reported that he was trying to take a selfie before he fell.
Police said Ward travelled on Tuesday by rail with a tour group from the capital of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi town, where the bridge over the River Kwai, made famous in the movie about the railway constructed by forced labour under Japanese WWII occupation, is located. The railroad is known as the ‘death railway’ and connects Thailand and Burma.
After a brief stop, Mr Ward’s group proceeded to Sai Yok waterfall, another popular tourist destination. Police Major Kiatisak Kerdchok of Sai Yok police said that according to witnesses, when the train slowed down at a scenic spot, Ward opened a door in the carriage and fell 7-8 meters (8-9yards) down a slope.
A tourist in the area was videoing the surrounding scenery and subsequently captured Mr Ward falling from the train. Footage captured the Irish national as he fell from the carriage onto his back.
Rescuers and emergency services rushed to where he had fallen. Unable to access the area where he now lay, they were forced to put together a pulley system to lower themselves to reach him. Thai police said that when rescuers reached him, Mr Ward was barely breathing and his arm and neck were broken. The emergency services spent half an hour trying to resuscitate him but were unable to save him.
