Thailand: Tourist drowns in canal in Bangkok after 'trying to recover' his 'lost water gun'

A tourist has drowned in a canal in Thailand after trying to recover his lost water gun. According to The National, a newspaper published in Bangkok, authorities received a report of a missing person near Pratunam Pier along Khlong Saen Saep last night (Sunday 14 April) at 7pm. 

Authorities collaborated with a water rescue team and forensic doctors from Ramathibodi Hospital to investigate. The incident occurred at the Khlong Saen Saep Pier, under the Chalerm Lok Bridge in Bangkok.

According to the newspaper, the water rescue team swiftly located the deceased male shortly after arriving. Initial findings suggest that the victim was a foreigner visiting Thailand for the Songkran festival, the Thai New Year's national holiday. The findings add that he lost his water gun in the canal and drowned while trying to retrieve it.

Witnesses, among them other tourists, attempted to intervene but were unable to come to his rescue. They promptly alerted authorities to ask for assistance. 

The precise cause of the incident is currently under investigation and the foreigner has yet to be named. The Khlong Saen Saep is a canal in central Thailand. A portion of the waterway is used for public transport by an express boat service in Bangkok.