6 Vietnamese and American guests found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok, with poisoning a possibility

Six bodies were discovered on Tuesday in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok, with preliminary investigations suggesting their deaths may have been caused by poisoning, according to police and officials.

Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang identified the deceased as two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals, comprising three males and three females. An officer from the Lumpini police station, speaking anonymously, reported that the bodies were found foaming at the mouth.

The victims had booked multiple rooms at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel under seven names, with some staying on different floors from where the bodies were found, Lt. Gen. Thiti said. Authorities are searching for the seventh individual listed in the booking.

"There were no signs of a struggle," Thiti stated at a news conference at the hotel. He noted that the occupants of the room where the bodies were discovered had packed their luggage and were due to check out earlier on Tuesday. The bodies were found by a maid who entered the room after the guests failed to check out and found the door locked from the inside.

Food ordered from room service was left uneaten, though drinks had been consumed, Thiti added. While the exact cause of death has not been confirmed, Thiti indicated that the deaths appeared to have occurred about 24 hours before police were notified on Tuesday evening by hotel staff.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited the hotel in the evening and later addressed the media, stating that the incident was neither a robbery nor a random assault and should not impact Thailand’s tourism industry.

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

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller acknowledged the reports of the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Bangkok.

“We offer our sincere condolences to the families on their loss. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance to those families,” he told reporters in Washington.