Investigation into tourists' deaths in Chiang Mai inconclusive

Aug 16, 2011, 7:38 GMT

Bangkok - An investigation into the mysterious demise of five tourists and one Thai national in Chiang Mai, Thailand earlier this year failed to pinpoint the cause, but pesticides were the main suspects in four of the cases, authorities said Tuesday.

'Despite the best efforts of the Thai authorities and their international partners in undertaking an exhaustive investigation, the specific agents that caused the deaths and illnesses in these events cannot be identified and it cannot be determined exactly how people might have been exposed to them,' said a report issued by Thailand's Department of Disease Control.

The investigation into the causes of the deaths of one American, one Frenchwoman, one New Zealander, one Thai and a British couple between January 11 and February 19 in three hotels in the popular tourist city, took five months to conduct.

Four of the victims had been staying at the Downtown Inn.

The report concluded that the death of the American was probably caused by a rodenticide, while those of the New Zealander and Thai were probably caused by exposure to 'some chemical such as those found in pesticides.'

The deaths of the Frenchwoman and British couple could not be linked to specific causes, the report concluded.

The spate of mysterious deaths, which were initially shrugged off by Chiang Mai Governor Panadda Disakul as a 'coincidence,' drew negative press for the city, 650 kilometres north of Bangkok.

In an effort to restore faith in Chiang Mai, an investigation was finally launched by Thai and international organizations including the World Health Organiztion, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, using laboratories in Thailand, the US, Japan and Germany.

Although no specific 'agents of death' were identified by the investigation, Chiang Mai authorities have concluded that there should be stricter controls placed on the use of pesticides in the city.

'A panel will be set up to investigate and recommend stricter measures for the use of chemicals including pesticides in hotel and market areas,' the Department of Disease Control concluded.

Ron McDowall, a consultant to the United Nations who specializes in hazardous chemicals, in May told TV3's 60 Minutes that he suspected the death of New Zealander Sarah Carter was caused by a bug spray using the toxin chlorpyrifos.

'I think she was killed by an overzealous sprayer, who has been acting on the instruction of the hotel owner to deal with bed bugs,' he told the New Zealand TV programme.

Carter's father Richard set up a website at thailandtraveltragedies.com to highlight what he called the official cover-up over his daughter's death on February 6.