Mystery surrounds deaths at Grand Hyatt hotel in Bangkok
Six people have been discovered dead in a luxury hotel suite in Bangkok, Thailand.
The discovery has been shrouded in confusion and mystery. Initially, local media suggested there had been a shooting at the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok. However, police later dismissed these reports, stating there was no evidence of gunfire.
Authorities are now investigating whether the victims died of poisoning.
The deceased—three men and three women—all Vietnamese nationals, some of whom held dual American citizenship, according to Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin. Thavisin, who visited the scene, stated that investigators suspect the victims had been dead for 24 hours before they were found and that post-mortem examinations would be conducted.
Thavisin emphasized that police need to uncover the motives behind the deaths, asserting that the incident was a “killing,” not a suicide.
Seven people were booked to stay at the hotel, but only five checked in, and one person is currently unaccounted for, said Metropolitan police chief Lt Gen Thiti Saengswang.
One of the victims found in the room did not match the hotel’s records. Saengswang added that suspicious substances and the victims’ DNA were detected in drinks ordered to the suite just before 14:00 local time on Monday.
The food the victims ordered was not touched.
The guests had been scheduled to check out on Monday.
They went from the hotel’s seventh floor to the fifth, where their bodies were found by housekeepers in the suite’s living room and bedroom.
Investigators say there is no evidence of a fight or a robbery, and the only wound found on one of the bodies was likely caused by a collapse.
In the bathroom, tea, energy drinks and honey were found, all in open containers, the police chief said.
It also appears that two of the victims tried to get to the hotel suite’s door, which was locked from the inside, but did not manage to reach it in time.
The victims’ luggage will now be searched as part of the investigation.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said they were “closely monitoring the situation”, and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
Matthew Miller added that Washington was “ready to provide assistance” to them.
The Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok is in a popular tourist spot. Some of the victims were visiting Thailand for the first time, while others had been before, a police officer who wished to remain anonymous said.
The prime minister said that he did not want this incident to affect Thailand’s image or have an impact on tourism – which is a key pillar of the Thai economy, but which has not fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.
The country has just expanded its visa-free entry scheme to 93 countries and territories in an effort to entice tourists back.
