Brit who died from ‘violent’ drowning in vacationer hotspot mistaken for a dolphin
Catchawan Thongpia was found unresponsive and floating in the water after leaving his hotel in November last year – the 31-year-old was initially mistaken for a sea creature
Catchawan Thongpia was pulled out of the Rio de Santa Marina by emergency services and pronounced dead(Image: Facebook)
A British tourist who drowned in a Venice canal just hours after arriving in the Italian city was mistaken for a dolphin.
Catchawan Thongpia was found unresponsive and floating in the water after leaving his hotel “for a smoke” in November. The 31-year-old surfer from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was discovered by a member of the public, who initially mistook him for a dolphin.
Mr Thongpia was pulled out of the Rio de Santa Marina by emergency services and pronounced dead.
An inquest in Northallerton heard that it remains unknown as to how Mr Thongpia ended up in the water.
Italian police believe he may have accidentally fallen in after losing his balance while leaning on railings.
CCTV appeared to show to Mr Thongpia lean on railings at the canal side before he disappeared from the camera frame.
North Yorkshire coroner Catherine Devereux said: “Police reports confirmed there to be no third-party involvement or suspicious circumstances and indicate Mr Thongpia may have leant against a railing present at the location and accidentally fallen in.”
“It remains the case however that no one actually witnessed how Mr Thongpia came to be in the canal that evening.”
Mr Thongpia had left the four-star hotel at which he was staying in while on a of a five-day trip with his girlfriend and was later seen in the water by a member of the public, Giorgio Savardine, at around 6.30pm on November 3.
Mr Savardine said in a statement: “It was dark so I was thinking about the dolphin that was seen some days before in the lagoon.
“After approximately one minute of considering that the current was carrying it towards me, I realised it was a human body.
“I immediately shouted to grab his attention and help him but I realised he was unconscious and not responding.”
Mr Savardine said he tried to hang from bars at the side of a bridge in an attempt to grab him while another family called for emergency services.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Thongpia died from “violent mechanical asphyxia due to drowning”.
The coroner ruled an open conclusion following the inquest.
