PATTAYA: A Russian tourist who appeared to have a white powder on his nostrils according to rescue teams was found unconscious in a public restroom on Walking Street in South Pattaya early Friday, as heavily intoxicated friends obstructed rescue workers and refused to let him be taken to a hospital.
The Thammasathan Pattaya City Rescue Radio Center received the report at 2:30 a.m. on August 28th, 2026. The incident occurred on Walking Street in South Pattaya. Special affairs officers from Pattaya City, tourist police, and volunteer rescuers were dispatched to the scene.
A large crowd of tourists gathered as officers found the Russian man collapsed in the restroom, unresponsive, with a vacant stare and slurred, incoherent speech. Friends of the same nationality, also heavily intoxicated, shouted and blocked officials from entering to help. They later carried the man out themselves to a better-ventilated area but still refused to allow him to be moved to a hospital and refused rescue officials to take a closer look at the man.
Rescuers said white powder residue was visible in the man’s nostrils. The substance could not be identified at the scene.
Friends told law enforcement officers that the man had simply taken antidepressants and then consumed alcohol before passing out, though they said he could still be roused and didn’t need medical attention or an inspection. Officials noted that the white powder resembled an illicit substance. The man remained incoherent, at one point saying his legs were missing, and insisted he would not go to hospital and only wanted to return to his accommodation.
Kriangsak Thapkhlue, 64, who works nearby, said the group had come from a nearby Russian entertainment venue to use the restroom. After a short time, the friends ran to him asking for help with the unconscious man, and he called emergency services. When law enforcement officers arrived along with rescue workers, he said, the friends pushed them away from the restroom and carried the man out themselves.
Kriangsak said his shop had already closed and the tourists had only come to use the bathroom. He said the man’s condition resembled drug intoxication, with a large amount of white powder visible in his nostrils. He believed the group may have inhaled a substance in the restroom, though he did not know where it came from.
Officers photographed the scene and recorded the man’s passport as evidence. The cause of his collapse could not be confirmed because his friends refused hospital treatment and took him back to their lodging themselves. Police are reportedly looking into the incident and looking to identify the tourists involved for further interviews.
