Body of popular Thai YouTuber Hlun Solo returns home; family seeks autopsy

The body of the popular Thai travel YouTuber Hlun Solo was returned to Thailand early Thursday morning, as his family prepared to seek an autopsy to find the cause of his death in Georgia last month. The body was transported on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul that landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5.10am. After the autopsy is completed in Bangkok, the family intends to bring the body to Somdet district of Kalasin for funeral rites, said Jaithai Upakarnitikaset, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bowornthat Pengsuk, better known as Hlun Solo, died in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 14. Police there confirmed the death on July 29, two days after the family issued a public appeal for news about the 27-year-old’s whereabouts. The family said they had not heard from Bowornthat since July 13, shortly after he arrived in the Caucasus nation to gather material for one of his popular features on solo budget travel. Police in Georgia said his body was found at a hotel room in the capital city, with circumstances surrounding the death described as unclear. The Thai embassy in Ankara, Turkey, which also handles Thai affairs in Georgia, sent officials to Tbilisi to coordinate the return of Hlun Solo’s remains. Hlun Solo had 2.5 million followers on Facebook and 950,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel at the time of his death, and as of Thursday those figures had grown to 3.9 million and 1.3 million, respectively. Bowornthat Pengsuk, better known as Hlun Solo, had 2.5 million followers on Facebook and 950,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel at the time of his death, and many more have discovered his work since his passing. (Photo from Hlun Solo YouTube channel)