An American tourist plunged to his death from the fourth floor of a shopping mall in northeastern Thailand.

David James Stephenson, 56, from West Virginia, sparked alarm among shoppers when he fell near the escalator of the Terminal 21 Korat mall atrium in Nakhon Ratchasima on November 18. Medics rushed to give him first aid, but he died of serious injuries.

Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima Police Station officers said they received a report at 5:25 pm local time. They arrived with forensics officers at the scene, where security guards were ushering curious onlookers away and cordoning off the area.

Police Colonel Suthinan Kongchaemdee, superintendent of the Nakhon Ratchasima City Police Station, said: 'From questioning witnesses and checking CCTV cameras at the scene, it was found that the foreigner, a US citizen, climbed over the safety railings of the balcony. We have notified the US Embassy in Thailand to notify the man's relatives about his death.'

He was reported to have suffered multiple fractures and severe head trauma and bleeding. His body was taken to the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital for a post-mortem exam.

Authorities found a keycard to a nearby hotel in the tourist's belongings. They also found a permit to stay in the country valid until December 23.

Just last week, a Russian man fell to his death from a hotel in Phuket, Thailand.

Aleksandr Prosvetov, 37, was visiting a hotel bar when he allegedly plunged from The Royal Paradise Hotel on the holiday island early morning on November 14. His body was taken to the Vachira Phuket Hospital for a post-mortem exam.

Two days earlier, a woman named Kwandao, 35, plunged from the fifth floor of a hotel in Patong, leaving her alive but in critical condition. She was reportedly staying in the room alone and had locked it from the inside.