PATTAYA, Thailand – A Russian tourist was found unconscious in a toilet on Pattaya’s Walking Street in the early hours of August 28, with his heavily intoxicated friends initially preventing rescuers from treating him while white powder was seen inside the man’s nostrils, though officials could not establish what substance it was.

Russian Arrested for ATM Withdrawals in Pattaya Linked to Call Centre Scam

The Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Pattaya rescue radio centre was alerted at 2:30 a.m. to reports of an unconscious foreign man in a toilet on Walking Street in South Pattaya, and Pattaya special affairs officials, tourist police, and volunteer rescuers attended as a crowd of tourists gathered at the scene.

The man later came around but was speaking incoherently and appeared severely intoxicated, while friends of the same nationality, who were also reportedly heavily drunk, shouted at and obstructed the officers, initially refusing to let them assist. The group eventually carried the man outside to an area with better ventilation, but they continued to oppose an ambulance transfer to hospital, with rescuers saying the man’s friends told them he had taken antidepressant medication and consumed alcohol before losing consciousness.

During their examination, officers saw a white residue in his nostrils which resembled an illicit drug, although they could not identify it, and the man remained confused and intoxicated, saying only that his leg was missing and insisting that he wanted to return to his accommodation rather than go to hospital.

A Russian tourist collapsed unconscious in a bathroom on Pattaya’s Walking Street with white powder around his nostrils and claimed his legs were missing.

Intoxicated friends blocked paramedics from taking him to hospital and carried him away themselves. pic.twitter.com/RI79emCV9G

— Bangkok Lad (@bangkoklad) August 28, 2026

A witness, Kriangsak Thapkluea, 64, said the Russian group had come from a nearby Russian entertainment venue before using the toilets, and one of the friends ran to ask him for help after the man collapsed, with Kriangsak stating that his own shop had been closed for some time and that the group had only entered to use the toilet.

Kriangsak believed the man’s condition resembled drug use after seeing what he described as a large amount of white powder in the nostrils, but said he did not know where any substance may have come from or whether it had been bought or sold. Officials were only able to record the identities of those involved, other than they were Russian, and no clear cause of the man’s collapse could be confirmed because his friends would not allow him to be taken to hospital.

Russian Man Arrested for Assault on Thai Woman in Pattaya

The incident highlights ongoing concerns about drug use and excessive alcohol consumption among foreign tourists in Pattaya’s nightlife areas, and the challenges faced by rescue workers when friends or associates obstruct medical assistance. The man’s condition remains unknown, and authorities have not indicated whether further investigation or action will be taken.