An Australian karate instructor is fighting for his life in a coma after smoking cannabis and getting into trouble on a famous Thai beach.
Malcolm Ayles, 58, from Grovedale in Victoria, had smoked “two cannabis cigarettes” while on holiday in Pattaya on Monday morning, according to his wife.
Panadda Ayles said her husband jogged on the sand before taking a dip at Jomtien beach, the scene of several accidental drownings in recent years.
Ayles screamed for help and disappeared into the waves, but the heroic local, Kittichai Limcharoen, dove in and pulled him unconscious from the water.
Panadda Ayles (pictured right) said her husband (pictured left) jogged in the sand before taking a dip at Jomtien beach, the scene of several accidental drownings in recent years.
In the photo, emergency services perform CPR.
The Karate instructor received CPR on the beach before being rushed to hospital, where he remains in a coma, according to Viral Press.
Ayles said her husband bought cannabis, which is fully legalized in Thailand, at a shop near the beach.
“He told me he was going to run on the beach,” she said.
‘I looked at him and suddenly he ran into the sea and started drowning before my eyes. I was shocked and screamed for help.
‘I still can’t believe what happened. My husband is very fit and he is strong. We didn’t have any disagreements. He was very relaxed.’
Malcolm Ayles, 58, from Grovedale in Victoria, is a Karate instructor.
Ayles said her husband (pictured) had smoked two cannabis cigarettes he bought at a shop near the beach before the incident.
His rescuer said he saw Mr Ayles struggling in the water and took action.
‘I saw what was happening and realized there was no one else there to help the man. “I jumped into the water as fast as I could to save him,” Limcharoen said.
“I pulled him back onto the sand and shortly after the rescue team arrived.”
Paramedics said doctors are monitoring Ayles closely.
A spokesperson for the Sawang Boriboon Dhammasathan volunteer rescue team described the incident as a “red case”, meaning the patient’s condition was the most serious, almost fatal.
