GOLDEN beaches, festivals and vibrant nightlife make Thailand a huge draw for tourists – but one of its islands is growing a reputation for a more sinister reason.
The paradise resort of Phuket has become plagued by the deaths of holidaymakers and expats – most recently Towie star Jordan Wright.
Jordan, 33, was found dead in a drainage canal on March 14 after CCTV showed him sprinting back towards his hotel near Bang Tao beach.
His death is the latest riddle troubling the island as police investigate whether he was fleeing from someone in his final moment.
Eerily, another Brit was also captured running by surveillance cameras before he was found dead.
Regan Kelly, from Selsdon, South London, was found dead in the sea at Patong Beach days into his trip with a friend on January 3, 2025.
The 28-year-old’s sister Laurie Blackall said she is still trying to work out how her beloved brother ended up in the water naked – apart from one sock.
Such a tiny detail might be overlooked by many, but for Laurie, it’s the smoking gun that tells her someone else was involved in Regan’s death.
Thai police quickly put the building surveyor’s death down to accidental drowning – but Laurie fears there’s more to it.
The grief-stricken mum previously told The Sun how she is horrified at the number of tourists who have tragically died while visiting Phuket in recent years.
“I feel like since Regan, maybe it’s because of what happened to him, that it just stands out so much to me,” she said.
“The amount of deaths that happen, especially in Thailand, is just incredible. It is insane. And that’s not in a positive way.
“It’s insane how many people lose their lives over there.”
Other tragedies in Phuket in recent years include the body of a Brit found on a yacht, an Australian tourist beaten to death, and four holidaymakers dying within a week last August.
In January, a 69-year-old British man died on his yacht, which was anchored off Khao Khad beach.
Officers suggest that it indicates he likely had been dead for around two days before he was discovered.
And last month, an Australian tourist died after he was assaulted in Patong.
The 58-year-old was seen on CCTV in an argument with a younger man before the attack that left him with serious head injuries.
Two more chilling deaths rocked the island in December.
A British dad drowned after being swept out to sea by powerful waves while swimming with his partner.
The 37-year-old was paddling at Freedom Beach when an unexpectedly strong wave dragged him below the surface.
Tourists pulled him ashore and performed CPR but he could not be revived.
Just over a week later, a Mexican-Canadian tourist died after falling from the ninth floor of a hotel in Patong just hours after checking in.
The woman, 33, plunged from her balcony before staff found her body in the parking area of the hotel in the Kathu district.
In August last year, alarm bells were raised when four tourists died within a week.
The body of an American tourist, 28, was found near Patong Beach.
Meanwhile, a 68-year-old Swedish man collapsed on Kata Beach while wading out of shallow water.
A Russian tourist, 35, then drowned during a midnight swim with his partner in Saku after being pulled out by a wave.
That same day, two swimmers were pulled out of the water by a bystander who spotted them struggling. One of them died after being hauled ashore.
One of the most haunting cases in recent years unfolded after a Swiss tourist was found dead at Ao Yon waterfall.
Police discovered Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, 57, in the water covered by a black sheet in August 2021. Her phone, shorts and trainers were spotted nearby.
A local resident – 27-year-old Teerawat Thothip – was arrested after CCTV traced him going to the waterfall at the same time as Nicole.
He admitted strangling her while robbing her of around 300 baht (£6).
The number of tourist deaths in Phuket has been highlighted after Towie’s Jordan Wright was mysteriously found dead in a drainage canal.
CCTV showed him sprinting back towards Hotel COCO Phuket Bangtao Beach and looking over his shoulder just before midnight on March 12.
Further surveillance footage only deepens the riddle – with Jordan heard in a furious row with an unknown person.
Police believe he was arguing over the phone – and say they are investigating who was on the other end of the call.
Cops do not believe that Wright was being physically chased by another person when he was seen in one CCTV clip running back to the hotel.
But that has not ruled out the possibility that the star may have been running away from someone stationary in another location before he died.
