Foreign tourist filmed posing on abandoned Phuket building

Residents in Phuket’s Wichit district have warned of serious safety risks after a foreign tourist was filmed sitting on the edge of an abandoned eight-storey building while friends took photographs.

The footage, recorded by local residents and later shared on social media, showed the tourist sitting on the top-floor edge with both legs hanging over the side. A Thai man filming the scene warned that the tourist could fall and described the situation as “very dangerous”.

The unfinished concrete structure has no protective walls or balcony railings on any floor. Construction materials and exposed steel reinforcement bars remain on the ground floor, creating additional hazards for people entering the site.

Residents told Channel 7 that the project had been abandoned for more than four years. Vendors operating stalls near the entrance said they saw the tourists enter the building. They said the landowner allows businesses to operate at the entrance in exchange for helping to monitor the property.

One resident told the broadcaster that a Thai national had previously died after falling from the building’s rooftop. The resident urged Thai and foreign visitors not to enter, citing the risk of serious injury and possible legal consequences for entering private property without permission.

It was not clear how many people entered the building or whether others accompanying the tourist also climbed to the rooftop.