British backpacker’s friend’s pain, 24, dies in horror fall from train while heading to Thailand’s ‘Death Island’
A British backpacker has been left devastated after her boyfriend died after falling from a train on the way to Thailand’s “Death Island”.
Shona Moragan, 22, from Northern Irelandwas traveling Canadian Ryan Joseph Ralph, 24, when he fell from the Bangkok night locomotive on March 20.
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The couple, named by local media, were trying to reach the infamous island of Koh Tao in the south Thailand for a birthday trip when tragedy struck.
A few hours into the journey, Ryan had let Shona sleep while he went for a cigarette at the far end of the carriage, where many have no doors or barriers.
The tourist, from Kingston, Ontariois said to have been injured when he fell from the train before being pulled briefly across the tracks.
He was found dead the next day, March 21, under a newly built platform at Chet Samian Train Station in Ratchaburi province.
Police believe Ryan fell and was hit by part of the concrete platform while the train was still moving, before dragging himself underneath to escape the wheels.
They say he later fainted and died from blood loss.
Lieutenant Colonel Rathnont Kasemchaisit of Photharam police said: “The dead man was shirtless, wearing brown shorts and a necklace, and was lying on his back with serious injuries to both his legs.
“He had a wallet in his pocket containing various documents and Thai banknotes.
“The preliminary investigation revealed no traces of abuse. We think he had been dead for at least five hours.
“The Canadian did not die instantly. He managed to crawl under the platform, but later died of blood loss.”
Shona said she became concerned after waking up an hour later and being unable to find or contact her boyfriend.
She got off the train and alerted officers at the nearest police station around 10:30 PM local time.
Authorities used the GPS tracker on Ryan’s phone to launch a search, searching the 30 km stretch from Khlong Bang Tan train station to Ban Kluai train station.
However, they initially failed to locate him.
When the search resumed the next morning, officers from Photharam police station received a report that the body of a dead foreigner had been found at Chet Samian railway station.
Police arrived on the scene and found dried blood on the side of the platform and on gravel.
In the opening under the platform, Ryan was found spread out on the sand.
Headphones, a smartphone and sandals believed to belong to the deceased were also found nearby.
Cambodian railway worker Makala, 23, the man who discovered the body, said he often slept under the platform during his breaks.
He added that he was shocked and ran to inform his boss when he found the Canadian’s corpse that day.
He said, “The person was lying down, so at first I thought he was sleeping. When I looked closer, he wasn’t breathing. I was scared, so I rushed to inform my supervisor.”
Authorities said Ryan may have been hit on the leg by the platform, which had inadequate lighting and was only about 2 feet from the train tracks.
Shona, 23, said he had been in Thailand since February 17, and shortly afterwards she flew into the country to celebrate his birthday with him.
Ryan’s body was taken to the Forensic Institute for a post-mortem examination.
Police said they had given the details to the Canadian embassy to inform his relatives of his death.
Thailand’s outdated trains have become infamous for their poor safety standards.
In 2014, Matt Lawlor, 19, died during his gap year trip in Thailand when he fell from a train on the same route from Bangkok to the south of the country to visit the island of Koh Phangnan.
He was reportedly leaning out of the open door to smoke a cigarette at the time.
In February 2017, British backpacker Daniel Clarke, 20, was left in intensive care after falling from a moving train during the same journey on which the vehicle passed through Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand.
While in January last year, Irish national Patrick Ward, 45, tragically died after falling from a moving train in Kanchanaburi. He was reportedly trying to take a selfie at the time.
Koh Tao was dubbed Death Island after the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014. Since then, dozens of other cases of tourist deaths have emerged.
Authors, documentary makers and researchers have blamed corrupt Thai police and a powerful cabal of local families who control the island for covering up the killings to protect the lucrative tourism industry.
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