A prominent Western Australian businessman has fallen to his death while parasailing on the Thai resort island of Phuket.
Roger John Hussey's wife was filming the flight on Kata beach when he plunged into the sea.
A video of the flight posted on Facebook showed Mr Hussey being strapped into safety gear on the beach, but that straps between his legs were left undone.
He was relaxed and smiling.
The video then shows Mr Hussey and a crew member being pulled up into the air as the boat left the beach. Mr Hussey fell as the parasail wing was still climbing.
Thai media reported the two-minute video was recorded by Budsabong Thongsangka, Mr Hussey's wife.
Beachgoers screamed and rushed to bring Mr Hussey ashore but he was having difficulty breathing and died later in hospital.
Police said they were preparing charges against the parasailing business owner.
The crew member was being interrogated.
Mr Hussey, 71, was based in Perth and was on the board of numerous companies and not-for profits, including Landgate WA, WA Neuroscience Research Institute and the Bali Eye Foundation.
He was also the inaugural chair of Southern Ports and held the role from September 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016.
Current Southern Ports chair Robert Cole said the staff and board of Southern Ports have been saddened to hear reports of the passing of immediate past chairman Roger Hussey.
“Mr Hussey was appointed inaugural chair of Southern Ports in September 2014, a role in which he was tasked with aligning Albany, Bunbury and Esperance ports under a single umbrella with a shared vision and mission to facilitate trade in regional Western Australia,” Mr Cole said.
“As an experienced board member he brought with him valuable business acumen including strategic planning and corporate governance skills which put our organisation on a strong footing into the future.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Mr Hussey had been holidaying with his wife in northern Thailand and Phuket and they were due to return to Australia on Friday, Thai media reported.
Parasailing is popular with tourists in Phuket, where up to 20,000 Australians visit each month.
