British pensioner, 77, dies while watching horror film 'Annabelle Comes Home' in theatre during vacation in Thailand
A 77-year-old British pensioner dropped dead in a cinema hall in Pattaya, Thailand, while watching the horror film 'Annabelle Comes Home' on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Bernard Channing from Gedling, Notts.
Once the film was over and the lights were turned back on, a shocked guest discovered that Channing had died. The woman who found him is believed to be very shaken up and shouted for help upon realizing he was dead.
The cinema staff rushed in and called the emergency services at around 8 pm local time. Channing was pronounced dead at the venue and his covered body was taken out of the cinema via a side door and loaded into an ambulance.
After Channing's death, local resident Monthira Phengrat, who had come to the cinema, shared that the guests were "very upset". She shared, "There were some people at the entrance talking with staff. They were in the cinema where the man died and they were very upset." She added how people were very shocked especially since some people were sitting close to the dead man.
"The cinema staff was very concerned and they tried to prevent anybody from seeing what was happening," she continued.
The authorities shared that Channing's body had been taken to the hospital in the Banglamung district where the post mortem examination will take place. As reported by Mirror, Police Lieutenant Colonel Polpattham Thammachat shared, "Police were notified of the death at 8 pm inside the cinema in a shopping mall. "From the preliminary investigation it was not known how the foreign man had died but doctors will conduct an autopsy to establish the true cause of death."
Thammachat added that the police were not looking for anyone else in connection to Channing's death and were not suspecting any foul play. It was reported that Channing was sitting next to someone, but it is not clear if they were together or what their relationship was.
He is listed as the director of a Lloyd Channing (Shop Equipment) Ltd.
According to a spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office shared, "Our staff our supporting the family of a British man following his death in Thailand, and we are in touch with the local authorities."