A British pensioner from Liverpool died after being swept out to sea in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, on April 15. Police said he was swimming alone and was unable to return to shore.
The 75 year old man had entered the water in the morning as his girlfriend watched from the beach. His body was later found by a fisherman near a pier at about 4.30pm.
Police Captain Prasong Jaturat said the man was a widower and that his family lives in England, where he had been living with his children.
Prasong said the man had been swimming alone every morning at the same location in Hua Hin since arriving in Thailand and that conditions had usually been calm. On that day, however, the waves were strong, and no one else was in the water.
According to police, the man entered the water near the bay entrance, close to a ferry route serving boats travelling to Chon Buri. The section is unusually deep because it has been excavated to accommodate larger vessels.
Police believe the man may have been caught in a rip current before disappearing in the waves. His body was taken to Hua Hin Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
The Sun reported that it had contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
Beach drownings remain a recurring safety concern in Thailand, particularly in tourist areas such as Phuket, Pattaya and Krabi. Fatal incidents are often linked to rip currents, limited swimming ability and failures to follow warning signs.
Elsewhere, a 37 year old British tourist drowned at Freedom Beach in Phuket after struggling in the water while swimming with his wife, despite repeated attempts by beach guards to resuscitate him.
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