Sunderland man electrocuted in Thailand

Jun 24 2008 The Journal

A NORTH man died in a freak accident after being electrocuted when he stepped in a puddle containing a live power cable, it emerged last night.

Scott Mitchinson, 30, from the Barnes area of Sunderland, was in the rain-soaked district of Pattaya, Thailand, with a person reported to be his girlfriend when he stepped on an exposed electrical cable and suddenly collapsed.

According to newspaper reports in Thailand, they were walking through the city when Mr Mitchinson suddenly collapsed and began to convulse.

People in the area planned to take Mr Mitchinson from the scene of the accident but he had already died, according to doctors who attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation at a hospital emergency room.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that a British male died on June 19 in Bangkok, Thailand.

“We are in contact with his next of kin and consular assistance is being provided.”

It is believed that Mr Mitchinson was trying to get back to his hotel room as he walked from a bar.

Heavy downpours which struck in the early hours had flooded the district, damaged property and disrupted traffic.

Officials helped pump water, which reached two metres in some areas, to the sea.

His father, John, 72, a retired shipbuilder from Sunderland, said: “Scott worked away a lot of the time.

“He worked on oil rigs in the North Sea and I wouldn’t see much of him. I would go for months at a time without seeing him at all.

“He was a keen Sunderland supporter and when he was home, he would go to the games.

“He was also a big music fan and when he could, he loved going to music festivals.

“He came home from the oil rigs two weeks ago and he was in good spirits. I only saw him for one day before he went to Thailand. He told me he was going out there for 10 days with a group of friends to visit another friend.

“His friend ran a bar out there and had married a Thai girl.

“We didn’t have any relatives in Thailand. Scott never mentioned a girlfriend. He had only been to Thailand once before in 2006.

“If he did have a girlfriend, I can only assume it was a holiday romance because he never ever told me about going to see a girl.”

He added: “I’m having a really rough time. Scott was due back on Friday but instead I got a letter from the British Embassy to tell me he had died.

“Scott’s mum died when he was young and he didn’t have any brothers or sisters. It was just the two of us when Scott was growing up and now there is just me.”

Scott was due back on Friday but instead I got a letter from the Embassy to tell me he had died