Female tourist, 28, found dead after 'skinny dipping in waterfall' in Thailand

A Belgian tourist was found dead after she allegedly went skinny dipping alone at a waterfall in Thailand.

Cloe Ferrari, 28, from Belgium, was said to have gone on a bike ride to the Mae Yen waterfall but never returned to her lodging in Mae Hong Son province on September 6.

Her friend reported her disappearance to the police at 2:40pm local time, saying she had been trying to reach her phone since 2am.

Officials launched a search along the route to the waterfall and found Cloe's bicycle parked near the entrance. A warning was posted saying the tourist area was closed due to flood and landslide risks.

The rescue team suspended the mission in the evening due to heavy rain and forest runoff. The search resumed at 10am on Saturday, September 7.

Police found Cloe's clothes abandoned near the waterfall weir. Village officers drained the water and found the missing holidaymaker lying face-down in the sand on the floor of the stream without any clothes.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suwit Boonyapen of the Tourist Police Division 2 said: ‘An initial inspection found that there were no signs of assault on the victim's body. We believe she was swimming alone before drowning. No one else was there to rescue her.'

Rescue volunteer Wasan Punyaaut said floods in the area had hampered search efforts.

He said: 'On September 7, the caretaker of the weir pumped out the water, which allowed us to find her body in the weir. The tourist was naked, with her head buried deep in the sand and her lower body and feet exposed. We believe she has taken her clothes off to go swimming.

'The first person to discover her body was the village headman of Ban Mae Yen.'

Officials said they have notified the Belgian Embassy to inform Cloe's family of her death.

The suspected drowning happened while Thailand is being battered by monsoon rains strengthened by typhoon Yagi, said to be Asia's most powerful storm so far this year.

The Thai Meteorological Department said heavy downpours were expected to continue in the north and northeast region over the weekend as the storm, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression on September 8, battered neighbouring Vietnam.

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.