- author, Jimmy Whitehead
- Role, BBC News
-
Six people have been found dead in a luxury hotel suite in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Confusion and mystery surrounded the horrific discovery, with local media initially reporting a shooting at the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok hotel, but police dismissed the reports, saying there was no evidence of a shooting.
Instead, authorities are investigating whether the victims died from poisoning.
The Thai prime minister said the dead – three men and three women – were all Vietnamese citizens, some of whom had dual U.S. citizenship.
Serita Thavisin, who visited the scene, added that investigators suspect the victims had been dead for 24 hours when they were found, and post-mortem examinations will be conducted.
Seven people were booked to stay at the hotel, but only five were able to stay, and one person is currently missing, said capital police chief Lieutenant General Thiti Saengwang.
One of the victims found in the room did not match the hotel’s records.
He added that suspicious materials and the victims’ DNA were found in drinks ordered for the suite before 2 p.m. local time on Monday.
The food ordered by the victims was not touched.
Image source, Royal Thai Police
The guests were scheduled to leave on Monday.
They moved from the seventh floor of the hotel to the fifth, where cleaners found their bodies in the living room and bedroom of the suite.
Investigators said there was no evidence of a fight or robbery, and that the only wound on one of the bodies was likely caused by the collapse.
The police chief said tea, energy drinks and honey were found in the bathroom, all in open containers.
It also appears that two of the victims tried to reach the door of the hotel suite, which was locked from the inside, but were unable to reach it in time.
The victims’ luggage will now be searched as part of the investigation.
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