Tragic Northamptonshire teen who drowned in Thailand was on a conservation trip to save the ocean

The 19-year-old Northamptonshire student who lost her life in rough seas off the Thailand coast was on a conservation expedition in the South East Asian country.
A British teenager who drowned off the coast of Koh Chang, Thailand, on Sunday, is believed to be from Northamptonshire.A British teenager who drowned off the coast of Koh Chang, Thailand, on Sunday, is believed to be from Northamptonshire.
A British teenager who drowned off the coast of Koh Chang, Thailand, on Sunday, is believed to be from Northamptonshire.

Bryony Freestone tragically drowned while in the waters off the White Sand beach resort in Koh Chang, the second biggest Thai island.

The Wollaston School pupil, from Little Houghton, had been staying with Marine Conservation Cambodia, carrying out research on the effects of illegal trawling on seagrass there.

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The talented University of Exeter student, who described herself as a keen surfer, is believed to have gone out swimming while red warning flags had been placed on the beach on Sunday, before getting into difficulty in the strong swell.

Only days earlier a 55-year-old German tourist had been killed around a kilometre away from where Miss Freestone lost her life.

Miss Freestone had been the fundraising officer for the five-week expedition “FXCambodia” and said she had “always found the great outdoors fascinating.”

In the “about the team section” of the expedition’s website, Miss Freestone said: “I’ve been lucky enough to go to Kenya and gain an insight into the world of elephant and rhino conservation, and climbed Mount Kenya to raise money and awareness for their conservation.

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“My love of surfing has inspired my interest in the importance of protecting the oceans, and I can’t wait to discover more about this and understand its wider implications for people, in Cambodia this summer.”

The British Embassy in Bangkok is yet to make a formal statement about Miss Freestone’s death. However close family friends have confirmed that she is the 19-year-old British tourist to have lost her life on Sunday.

Miss Freestone had been living in Falmouth, Cornwall as a University of Exeter student, having taken her A-Levels at Wollaston School.