Canadian Backpacker, 24, Falls to his Death From Train in Thailand

While traveling to Koh Tao, Thailand, a 24-year-old Canadian backpacker fell off a passenger train, tragically ending his life. He is believed to have been injured in a fall from the train before being pulled briefly along the tracks.

Ryan Joseph Ralph, 24, of Canada, and Shona Morgan, 22, of Northern Ireland, were on a night train leaving Bangkok on Wednesday.

To celebrate Mr. Ralph’s birthday, Ms. Morgan had flown to Thailand to join him, who had been traveling the country for slightly over a month.

But he left her sleeping to light up a cigarette at the far end of the cabin two hours into the train ride, and he tragically fell to his death. Doorless and barrier-free rail cars are common in Thailand.

When Ms. Morgan awoke an hour later to find him gone, she reportedly sounded the alarm.

According to Thai media, about 200 rescuers and police officials joined the search for Mr. Ralph from Ontario, Canada.

According to the police, he dragged himself underneath the speeding train after losing his footing, but he eventually went out from blood loss and died.

Koh Tao island has been nicknamed “Death Island” after the 2014 deaths of two British tourists, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. The couple, identified by local media, had intended to celebrate Mr. Ralph’s birthday there.

A station in Ratchaburi province discovered his body yesterday beneath a recently constructed platform.

He was discovered with serious injuries to both legs, according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Rathnont Kasemchaisit. He was also found carrying a wallet with many documents and Thai currency.

There were no signs of an attack, according to the initial investigation.

The discovery of Mr. Ralph’s body horrified a Cambodian rail worker, according to him. Many people point out the lack of safety measures at the old trains in Thailand for a string of fatalities.

While traveling from Bangkok to the southern part of the nation to visit the island of Koh Phangnan in 2014, 19-year-old Matt Lawlor tragically perished after falling from a train.

Falling from a moving train on the same route in February 2017 put 20-year-old British traveler Daniel Clarke in intensive care.

Patrick Ward, a 45-year-old Irishman, died in Kanchanaburi in December 2022 after plunging off a moving train.

Source: The Indipendant