Dead in the water: Mystery body sparks sea of questions near PattayaLegacyA fisherman’s shocking midday find sparked a new seaside mystery in Thailand, after a badly decomposed body was pulled from the waters near a remote island off Pattaya. Fishermen off Koh Si Chang raised the alarm on July 17 when they spotted a body drifting face-down in the sea, with its limbs partially detached and no clue to the dead man’s identity. Lieutenant Colonel Chai Pichit Phulaydok of Koh Si Chang Police Station received the chilling report just after noon, prompting an immediate response from local officers, Sriracha Water Police, and the Sawang Prateep Sriracha Rescue Unit. The body was found near Koh Khang Khao, also known as Bat Island, about 15 kilometres offshore. Rescue crews quickly launched a patrol boat and retrieved the remains, which were described as being in an advanced state of decomposition, suggesting the man had been dead for at least ten days. “There were no signs of physical assault,” said Boonsong Pinchusri from the Sawang Prateep unit. “But the body had clearly been in the water a long time. It’s likely he could have been a fisherman but we found no ID, no phone, nothing.” Due to the condition of the remains, parts of the body had detached and floated separately. The body was brought ashore at Koh Loy Pier in Sriracha and taken to Laem Chabang Hospital for a full autopsy. Pictures courtesy of Pattaya News Police say they are now appealing for information from the public and have asked relatives of any missing persons in the area to come forward to help identify the deceased, Pattaya News reported. “We’re treating this as an unexplained death,” said one officer. “Until we know who he was and how he ended up in the water, we can’t rule anything out.” While the cause of death remains unclear, the case has stirred memories of another chilling discovery on Pattaya Beach earlier this year. Back in May, beachgoers were left stunned when the body of an unidentified man, aged between 30 and 40, washed up near Soi 13 on the tourist-packed sands of Pattaya Beach. He was found face-down, dressed in a black T-shirt with foreign lettering and denim shorts. Blood around the nose and mouth, foam at the lips, and visible injuries to the cheekbone and eyelid prompted immediate suspicion of drowning or potential foul play. Police at the time seized a mobile phone found on the body but have yet to identify the man or confirm a cause of death. The recent Sriracha case now adds a grim chapter to a worrying trend of mystery deaths along Thailand’s eastern seaboard. The story Dead in the water: Mystery body sparks sea of questions near Pattaya as seen on Thaiger News.