Thai Embassy receives Hlun's remains, seeks earliest flight home

The Thai Embassy in Ankara has received the body of Thai travel vlogger Bowornthat Pengsuk, known online as "Hlun Solo", from Georgia after authorities there completed the identification process. Arrangements are now being made to fly his body back to Thailand.

According to an update posted on Facebook by Bowornthat's brother, Klose Mos, Thai embassy officials took custody of the body at 1pm local time in Georgia.

Klose wrote that Georgian forensic authorities had completed the required identification procedures and collected biological samples and other evidence needed for further examination before issuing the official autopsy report.

The body is being kept in proper storage while the embassy prepares the necessary documents for its repatriation. Once the paperwork is complete, the embassy will coordinate with airlines to arrange the earliest possible flight back to Thailand.

Bowornthat's passport will be returned together with his body, while his personal belongings remain in the custody of Georgian authorities as part of the ongoing investigation, Klose wrote.

They will be returned to Thailand through the embassy once the investigation is complete, the family said.

The official autopsy findings have not yet been released, with the embassy continuing to monitor the investigation and follow up with Georgian authorities on the expected timeline.

Klose wrote that after the body arrives in Thailand, it will be taken to the Ministry of Justice's Central Institute of Forensic Science for an additional post-mortem examination to ensure the process is complete and transparent before religious funeral rites are held at the family home.

The additional examination is expected to take one to two days after the body's arrival.

Details of the funeral, including the date, time and venue, will be announced once arrangements are finalised.

Klose also expressed gratitude for the public support that the family has received since Bowornthat's death, thanking individuals and organisations for their encouragement and assistance.

He offered special thanks to Professor Wilert Puriwat, president of Chulalongkorn University, Associate Professor Prakorn Siriprakob, dean of the Faculty of Political Science, as well as the university, its Faculty of Political Science and the Rural Scholarship Programme for offering to host the first night of the funeral rites.

Bowornthat was an alumnus of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science and a recipient of the Rural Scholarship Programme.

Klose also said that those wishing to assist are welcome to contribute equipment and supplies needed for the funeral, such as tents, tables, chairs, fans, sound systems, lighting, portable toilets, drinking water and other facilities for mourners, stressing that the request was intended only to provide an opportunity for those who wish to pay their final respects.

Hlun was a popular travel vlogger who lost contact with his family in Thailand while travelling in Georgia last month.

His family sought help to locate him and received assistance from the Thai community in Georgia, only to learn that he had died in a hotel room.

Georgian police said they had contacted the country's Foreign Ministry to notify it of Bowornthat's death so that it could inform the Thai Embassy in Turkey.

However, the Thai Embassy insisted that it had never been contacted by the Georgian authorities regarding the death.