The boyfriend of a British backpacker has been found dead after plunging from a moving train as the pair headed for a birthday trip to Thailand’s ‘Death Island’.
Ryan Joseph Ralph, 24, boarded the overnight locomotive with Shona Morgan, 22, from Bangkok to reach the notorious Koh Tao island in the south on March 20.
A couple of hours into the journey, he left Shona sleeping while he went for a cigarette at the end of the carriage – where many trains have no doors or barriers.
The Canadian tourist, from Kingston, Ontario, is believed to have been injured in the fall from the train before being pulled briefly along the tracks.
Tragically, he was found dead the next day under a newly built platform at the Chet Samian Railway Station in Ratchaburi province.
Police believe that Ryan fell and was struck by part of the concrete platform while the train was still moving, before dragging himself underneath to escape the wheels but he later passed out and died from blood loss.
Ryan Joseph Ralph, 24, was travelling on the overnight locomotive with his girlfriend Shona Morgan, 22
The tourist was found dead the next day, March 21, under a newly built platform at the Chet Samian Railway Station in Ratchaburi province
Ryan’s girlfriend Shona (pictured together) said she became worried when she woke up around an hour after he left and he was not on the train and could not be contacted
Police Lieutenant Colonel Rathnont Kasemchaisit of the Photharam Police said: ‘The dead man was shirtless, wearing brown shorts and a necklace, and lying on his back with severe injuries on both of his legs.
‘He had in his pocket a wallet containing various documents and Thai banknotes.
‘From the preliminary investigation, there were no traces of assault. We believe he had been dead for at least five hours.
‘The Canadian did not die instantly. He managed to crawl under the platform, but died of blood loss later on.’
Ryan’s girlfriend Shona said she became worried when she woke up around an hour after he left and he was not on the train and could not be contacted.
She disembarked from the train and notified officers at the nearest police station at around 10.30pm local time.
Authorities used the GPS tracker on Ryan’s phone to launch a search, scouring the 30km stretch of tracks from the Khlong Bang Tan Railway Station to the Ban Kluai Railway Station. However, they failed to locate him.
Authorities used the GPS tracker on Ryan’s phone to launch a search, however, they initially failed to locate him
The Canadian tourist, from Kingston, Ontario, is believed to have been injured in a fall from the train before being pulled briefly along the tracks
As the search resumed the following morning, Photharam Police Station officers received a report that the body of a dead foreigner had been found under the platform of the Chet Samian Railway Station.
Police arrived at the scene, where they found dried blood on the side of the platform and on gravel.
In the gap under the platform, Ryan was discovered splayed out on the dirt.
A pair of headphones, a smartphone, and sandals believed to belong to the deceased were also found nearby.
Cambodian rail worker Makala, 23, the man who discovered the body, said he often slept under the platform during his breaks.
He added he was shocked and ran to inform his boss when he found the Canadian’s body that day.
He said: ‘The person was lying down, so I thought he was sleeping at first. When I took a closer look, he was not breathing. I was scared so I rushed to inform my supervisor about it.’
Police believe that Ryan fell and was struck by part of the concrete platform while the train was still moving
Authorities said that Ryan may have been struck on the leg by the platform, which had insufficient lighting and was only around 50 cm away from the train tracks.
Shona, who is from Northern Ireland, said Ryan had been in Thailand since February 17, and that she had flown into the country shortly after to celebrate his birthday with him.
Ryan’s body was taken to the Forensic Institute for a post-mortem examination.
Police said they had given the details to the Canadian Embassy to inform his relatives of his death.
Thailand’s ageing trains have become notorious for their poor safety standards.
Cambodian rail worker Makala, 23, the man who discovered the body, said he often slept under the platform during his breaks
Police arrived at the scene, where they found dried blood on the side of the platform and on gravel
Ten years ago in 2014, Matt Lawlor, 19, died during his gap year trip in Thailand when he fell from a train on the same route from Bangkok to the south of the country to visit the island Koh Phangnan.
He was reportedly leaning from the open door to have a cigarette at the time.
In February 2017, British backpacker Daniel Clarke, 20, was left in intensive care after falling from a moving train on the same journey as the vehicle passed through Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand.
While in January last year, Irish national Patrick Ward, 45, tragically died after falling from a moving train in Kanchanaburi. He was reportedly trying to take a selfie at the time.
Koh Tao was dubbed Death Island following the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014.
Dozens of other cases of tourist deaths have since emerged.
Authors, documentary makers and researchers have blamed corrupt Thai police and a powerful clique of local families that control the island for covering up the murders in order to protect the lucrative tourism industry.