Six people are found dead in a hotel in downtown Bangkok, with poisoning a possibility

BANGKOK– The bodies of six people were found Tuesday in a luxury hotel in central Bangkok and their deaths may have been caused by poisoning, police and officials said.

Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang identified the dead as two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals, saying there were three men and three women. Investigators said the bodies were foaming at the mouth, an officer at the Lumpini police station said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose information.

The victims had booked several rooms at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel under seven names, and some were staying on a different floor than the room where they were found dead, Thiti said. Police are still searching for the seventh person included in the booking, Thiti said at a news conference at the hotel.

He said there were no signs of a struggle. The residents of the room where the bodies were found were supposed to have left early Tuesday and their luggage was already packed, she said. The bodies were discovered by a maid who went to the room after she failed to check it and found it locked from the inside, Thiti said.

There was food that had been previously ordered from room service that had not been consumed, but drinks had been consumed, Thiti said. She did not confirm the cause of death, but she said the deaths appeared to have occurred approximately 24 hours before police arrived at the scene Tuesday night after being called by hotel staff.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin went to the hotel in the evening and later told reporters that the incident was neither a robbery nor a random assault, and should not affect Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry.

Pending autopsy results, “Our hypothesis is that they ingested something that killed them,” Srettha said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said U.S. officials are aware of reports of the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Bangkok.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the families for their loss. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to provide consular assistance to those families,” he said.