One Killed, Five Injured In Siam Park Flume Ride Mishap

[george]

One killed in Siam Park flume ride mishap

BANGKOK: -- One woman was killed and five others including a nine-year-old girl, were injured when a roller-coaster style water sluice passenger boat fell from the crest of its artificial hill at a crowded amusement park on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday.

The accident occurred at midday when the boat-carriage fell from the top of the railway trestle-like structure some 20 metres above the ground.

Siam Park deputy manager Noppakarn Luang-amornlert said the accident occurred because of a sudden drop in electrical power, which caused a water pump to fail to control the water level for amusement park ride to float upon.

The six injured persons were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment, with three victims still being treated.

--TNA 2007-10-23

6 injured when Suan Siam ride falls down

BANGKOK: -- Six people were injured when the Indiana Log ride at Suan Siam free-fell from the top of the hill to its waterway below at noon Tuesday.

The six were admitted to the intensive care unit of Nopparat Ratchathani Hospital.

-- The Nation 2007-10-23

[Scott]

Condolences to the family and friends of the victim. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to those in the hospital. Hopefully, action will be taken to prevent these accidents from happening.

[DamianMavis]

AHHHHHHHHHHH... so which is it for crying out loud? 6 injured or 5 injured and one dead?! I know I know, how dare I judge this country based on my "western ideals of competence" but cmon! When its about life and death can't they tell it straight? Sheesh I mean there might be no one to give condolonces to if its 6 injured which would be good.

Damian Mavis

[Cobalt60]

OMG the first rule of any design is 'fail safe' ? I dont care if its Thailand or anywhere else in the world, its a basic engineering principal, but oh no,its cost some poor people their loved one and injured others. Terrible

[percy2]

OMG the first rule of any design is 'fail safe' ? I dont care if its Thailand or anywhere else in the world, its a basic engineering principal, but oh no,its cost some poor people their loved one and injured others. Terrible

I think every mechanical device ever invented has failed at some time.

AHHHHHHHHHHH... so which is it for crying out loud? 6 injured or 5 injured and one dead?! I know I know, how dare I judge this country based on my "western ideals of competence" but cmon! When its about life and death can't they tell it straight? Sheesh I mean there might be no one to give condolonces to if its 6 injured which would be good.

Damian Mavis

They may both have been correct at the time of reporting.

Don't be too hasty to jump to conclusions.

A shame for those involved.

regards

[Cobalt60]

When you design a system you make it so when it fails it fails safe. Everything has the potential to break so lets think what would happen if the power supply goes off, ok we will make it so that it wont throw people over the edge, it will just leave them dry or stranded.

[percy2]

I think every mechanical device ever invented has failed at some time.

I repeat myself.

No matter how many fail safes.

[ClaytonSeymour]

OMG the first rule of any design is 'fail safe' ? I dont care if its Thailand or anywhere else in the world, its a basic engineering principal, but oh no,its cost some poor people their loved one and injured others. Terrible

I don't believe that this machine was either designed or built in Thailand. Re-assembled - yes, almost certainly by it's manufacturers. Has it been maintained correctly? I don't know. Let's wait for the investigation before making further judgement. For the record, I've been on the ride in question several times.

The Wife and I are going to Alton Towers this Sunday and this story's got her worrying about it.

[Acquiesce]

Yep, happens all over the world, more than you realise i would guess.

http://www.rideaccidents.com/

[maipleur]

Siam Park deputy manager Noppakarn Luang-amornlert said the accident occurred because of a sudden drop in electrical power, which caused a water pump to fail to control the water level for amusement park ride to float upon.

sudden dops in electrical power happens daily here, I find that hard to believe.

[lazeeboy]

Siam Park deputy manager Noppakarn Luang-amornlert said the accident occurred because of a sudden drop in electrical power, which caused a water pump to fail to control the water level for amusement park ride to float upon.

sudden dops in electrical power happens daily here, I find that hard to believe.

been on that log flume many times ,always felt safe ,these things happen ,hope the injured recover quickly .

[Scott]

Probably best not to jump to conclusions, these things do happen all over the world, true, but they seem to happen a little more frequently here than other places.

[MrSquigle]

Think it was 6 injured and then one died, so 5 injured then only.

I been on that ride also a few times.

[meemiathai]

Think it was 6 injured and then one died, so 5 injured then only.

No, I think they are trying to hide something.

[Mid]

OMG the first rule of any design is 'fail safe' ? I dont care if its Thailand or anywhere else in the world, its a basic engineering principal, but oh no,its cost some poor people their loved one and injured others. Terrible

agreed , the word accident has no place here .......................

[Tony Clifton]

Went there a few weeks ago and although I'm no safety inspector, I noticed an obvious and dangerous lack of maintenance in two places.

Water slides:

First time up, I immediately pointed to a friend how dangerous this structure is after the first 10 steps.

Free standing stairs take you up 4 or 5 stories high, maybe more, up to two water slides on each side at the top.

These free standing stairs are made of concrete supported by a metal frame which looks like it was painted once, at construction.

Constantly exposed to water dripping off swimmers, most of the frame is rusted way beyond what would be acceptable in most western countries. You can actually see large gaping holes in most of the railing going all the way up, the bottom metal frame holding the concrete slabs is flaking out badly. I saw sharp edges and openings on the railings that could cut skin. That structure has lost a lot of it's original strength and is constantly under stress while about a 100 people or so climb up the stairs, you can actually feel it bouncing up and down. Nothing a fresh coat of paint can fix here. Went up twice but the second time up convinced me that structure is nothing but an accident waiting to happen.

Flowing circular pool :

There's a circular pool where you can let the current carry you all the way around. Many small bridges allow people to cross over to the middle to the small island. While drifting, I looked under each and every bridge, all metal supports on every bridge are badly rusted. Again, nothing a coat of fresh paint can fix here. Some of the beams are so rusted you can pick large metal flakes off, some beams while others have gaping holes from one end to the other where the welds used to be.

I guess that will only be fixed once something happens.

Edited October 24, 2007 by Tony Clifton

[parryhandy]

i went on this ride last week with mrs and kids and the 5 or 6 figure is very important because the cars are only supposed to hold 5 people max.As we qued they were grinding one of the cars right were you got on and off.

There are pictures on the walls showing how you must distribute the weight in the cars, The pictures show you must sit LIGHT (person)HEAVY LIGHT HEAVY and i remember thinking as we went up the hills, on the conveyor belts, that if you had very heavy people at the back of the cars they could easily flip over as the only thing keeping the cars on the belts is gravity. I was expecting us to start sliding backwards any second.This is the only place where i could envisage an accident as the ride is pretty tame really.AS we got to the top of the second hill i was primed for a quick bail out if needed.

Also many of the rides were closed due to maintenace .There are about 5 rides all together under one canopy,inlcuding a rocket and waltzer type rides which are ideal for kids.I took our kids on one of them and we went to go to the next and they all broke down together obviously being some kind of power failure in that building.We left the park 2 hours later and them rides were still not working.

That log flume ride is a very old style of ride and the way them cars go up the conveyor belts is definately a saftey flaw in my opinion.They could easily have some king of bar sticking out from the cars that attches to a rail when you go up like newer rides and rollercoasters have.

Very sad

[Tony Clifton]

Just went to the food shop and had a look at the newspaper photos while they were preparing lunch. You can clearly see that the passenger boat is not the original one designed for this ride, looks rather cheap and a home made fiberglass job. The structure around it looks like old metal from WWII installations.

The newspaper was today's dailynews.co.th.

Edited October 24, 2007 by Tony Clifton

[MrSquigle]

You go on these rides for thrills and spills...they got em.

[Jai Dee]

Woman dies as ride fails at Siam Park

Police charge 2 workers; safety checks 'flawed'

One woman was killed and five people injured in an amusement ride accident at Siam Park yesterday, the park's deputy manager said.

The accident, on the Indiana Log ride, happened at 12.30pm. It sparked calls for better safety rules for amusement parks.

Noppakarn Luang-amornlert, deputy administration manager at the park, said the accident happened because a sudden drop in power caused a water pump to fail - so there was no water for the ride to float on. The ride ran all the way from the top to the bottom of a hill and crashed, because there wasn't enough water to cushion the impact.

The ride usually careers down a waterway at a speed of 50 kilometres per hour.

"I was shocked to learn about the accident because it's never happened," Noppakarn said.

Six people - two adults and four children - who were on the ride were rushed to Nopparat Ratchathani Hospital.

They were identified as Patchadaporn Kongkarian, 35, Sampan Wong-anu, 32, Supattra Wong-anu, 9, Woranart Nakhamyaek, 9, Alisa Buarouy, 10, and Natthikamol Monjathuras, 11. Patchadaporn died later in hospital following an operation.

Park public-relations chief Pornsri Chanthornkhanma said the accident was caused by a power system disruption. This cut the pump supplying water to the ride. Two boats were stranded for two to three minutes, she said. When the water flow resumed, it forced one boat into the rear of the boat carrying the victims.

Patchadaporn's husband, Samphan Wonganu, 33, said he and family members were in the rear boat.

Samphan, who suffered minor injuries, said the water flow stopped shortly after his boat launched. He said the impact of the collision knocked his wife from her boat.

Bang Chan police said two ride operators - Todsaphon Makusa, 20, and Supalak Thapthong, 20 - were helping with their inquiries.

The investigating officers said they had already accused them of carelessness causing death.

Wivat Chamnandham, vice president of Siam Park City, said the company would take responsibility for the accident and provide Bt10,000 in compensation to all of the injured.

Dr Adisak Plitponkarnpim, head of the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Centre at Ramathibodi Hospital, said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning must take responsibility and look into the incident.

He said the government lacked rules on safety standards at amusement parks. Such controls should be put in place as soon as they were drafted by the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning. The last time such an accident took place was in 2004 at Fashion Island mall.

Adisak said the regulations should include warnings, an age limit on participants and guidelines for ride operators.

Source: The Nation - 24 October 2007

[parryhandy]

Bang Chan police said two ride operators - Todsaphon Makusa, 20, and Supalak Thapthong, 20 - were helping with their inquiries.

The investigating officers said they had already accused them of carelessness causing death.

Wivat Chamnandham, vice president of Siam Park City, said the company would take responsibility for the accident and provide Bt10,000 in compensation to all of the injured

the bucks passes straight to the bottom again when to improve things it should start at the top and the compensation is a joke , its about what i spent there that day!!

Edited October 24, 2007 by parryhandy

[Tony Clifton]

Police charge 2 workers

[geriatrickid]

I don't think this is a Thai specific issue. Someone is always getting decapitated or mangled on an amusement ride somewhere in the west. Sometimes its mechanical failure but often it's due to the person not following safety rules.

I recall one visit to Universal studios a girl that insisted on trying to wiggle out of the safety bar harness to get her cell phone that she had dropped (yes, she was yacking as the ride climbed the hill) and she nearly fell out of her seat trying to retrieve it. Aside from wetting herself, I think she learnt her lesson.

[ratcatcher]

Went there a few weeks ago and although I'm no safety inspector, I noticed an obvious and dangerous lack of maintenance in two places.

Water slides:

First time up, I immediately pointed to a friend how dangerous this structure is after the first 10 steps.

Free standing stairs take you up 4 or 5 stories high, maybe more, up to two water slides on each side at the top.

These free standing stairs are made of concrete supported by a metal frame which looks like it was painted once, at construction.

Constantly exposed to water dripping off swimmers, most of the frame is rusted way beyond what would be acceptable in most western countries. You can actually see large gaping holes in most of the railing going all the way up, the bottom metal frame holding the concrete slabs is flaking out badly. I saw sharp edges and openings on the railings that could cut skin. That structure has lost a lot of it's original strength and is constantly under stress while about a 100 people or so climb up the stairs, you can actually feel it bouncing up and down. Nothing a fresh coat of paint can fix here. Went up twice but the second time up convinced me that structure is nothing but an accident waiting to happen.

Flowing circular pool :

There's a circular pool where you can let the current carry you all the way around. Many small bridges allow people to cross over to the middle to the small island. While drifting, I looked under each and every bridge, all metal supports on every bridge are badly rusted. Again, nothing a coat of fresh paint can fix here. Some of the beams are so rusted you can pick large metal flakes off, some beams while others have gaping holes from one end to the other where the welds used to be.

I guess that will only be fixed once something happens.

Not surprising really, this is typical of amusement park operators in many countries, not just Thailand. In some countries there are rigorous standards of maintenance and inspection required in order to receive annual certification. This includes adequate comprehensive insurance.

If what Tony Clifton, above, says is true, and I believe it is, then Siam Park should be shut down for a complete independent inspection by a competent authority.

Any time the public's lives are at stake on thrill rides, at least the riders should be aware of proper compensation should there be an accident/incident. And also secure in the knowledge that safety has not been compromised. Accidents do happen, sometimes under the most controlled situations, but negligence is unacceptable.

As for the two 20 year old attendants, they will no doubt lose their minimum wage jobs. As to whether they were adequately trained in operation and emergency shutdown routines is open to conjecture.

B10,000 compensation is a joke. About what the boss of the park spends on petrol for his Benz in a month?

[Jai Dee]

Staff error likely cause of park death

The ongoing police investigation into the fatal accident during a thrilling ride at Siam Park has zeroed in on human error.

"We believe there was a co-ordination mistake among staff," Metropolitan Police Division 4 commander Maj General Pissanupong Yutathat said yesterday, "But we are gathering more evidence and the investigation is ongoing".

He declined to give any timeframe about when the investigation would be completed.

Two officials, Tossapol Nakusa and Supalak Thadthong, have already been charged with recklessness causing injury and death as they were supervising the water pump and generator for the fatal ride.

On Tuesday, a woman died and five other people sustained injuries because two boats on the Indiana Log ride collided.

According to the police investigation, a disrupted power supply caused a water pump to fail - so there was not enough water to cushion the impact of the boats plunging down from the start of the ride. However, the staff who supervised the water pump and the generator failed to inform the ride controller who released the ride as usual.

"By normal practice, if there is not enough water, the boat must not be launched from the top," Pissanupong said.

He said he had assigned a deputy commander to closely supervise the case together with officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Under the Building Control Act, this case is also under the jurisdiction of the BMA Public Works Department.

Pissanupong said as part of the ongoing investigation, the Scientific Crime Detection Division would also look into Siam Park's working systems to determine whether any more people should be held responsible for the accident.

Meanwhile, PM's Office Minister Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan revealed that a consumer lodged a complaint against Siam Park on October 18 this year over an Indiana Log ride.

In the complaint, the consumer suffered a broken coccyx after riding the Log on July 31.

Siam Park at first promised to pay for the medical bill but later reneged on the promise, citing the lack of a receipt.

Dhipavadee was speaking after chairing a meeting of the Consumer Protection Board. Siam Park managing director Wuthichai Luangamornrat said he did not receive any report on the July 31 case until the Office of Consumer Protection Board sent him a notice yesterday.

Board secretary-general Rassamee Visavavet said it had resolved to immediately suspend the use of the Indiana Log ride and to instruct all provincial governments to establish a committee to conduct safety checks at all amusement parks.

She said the board would also help the family of Patchadaporn Kongkarian, who was killed in Tuesday's accident, in seeking compensation from Siam Park.

There have been a number of fun-ride accidents in recent years.

According to a senior official at the BMA, two children died when a train ride caught fire at Fashion Island in 2002. Following that shocking accident, the government amended the Building Control Act, requiring that a committee check safety standards at all amusement parks be established under a ministerial regulation.

However, five years later, the Interior Ministry has yet to issue the ministerial regulation to enforce the safety checks.

In the wake of the fatal accident on Tuesday, the Khan Na Yow District Office had ordered Siam Park to provide safety-standard procedures for all the rides at its compound by November 2 - or face immediate closure.

The order was issued under the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act.

Law-enforcement officials at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) were also dispatched to inspect the Indiana Log ride.

The ride made headlines in 2002 when a Japanese tourist was hospitalised. In that case, Siam Park paid the medical bills even though police officers who inspected the ride had found nothing wrong with it.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin yesterday said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont had instructed him to ensure that all amusement parks, including those in shopping plazas, in the capital meet safety standards.

Amornphant Nakorn Siam Park chairman Chaiwat said he had been planning to replace the Indiana Log before this accident took place. The company has operated Siam Park for decades.

"We have brought in many new rides and machines to replace the old ones," he said.

Source: The Nation - 25 October 2007

[TAWP]

10K is taking responsibility? That is a joke and a slap in the face. How about someone take the owners picture and place a foot on it?

[Tony Clifton]

AS opposed to most mechanical failures, the rotting of the structures I mentioned above is clearly visible. Let's wait and see if they see. If not, money is changing hands not only between owner and victims. Do you think they'll go for a swim in the river pool and look under those small bridges?

Siam Park threatened with closure

Siam Park has been given 10 days to submit the safety records of its amusement rides or face closure following an accident on Tuesday which killed one rider and injured five others.

(10 days? Aren't they on hand at the park or nearby office?)

Thanita Phraewanit, assistant director of the Khan Na Yao district office, said the office has asked the fun park to submit a report on the

safety of all amusement rides and machines by Nov 2.

The park will be ordered to close unless the report is handed to the authorities by the deadline.

She said the city's Public Works Office would send officials to check whether the amusement park has been granted an operating licence.

The accident happened on the Indiana Log ride, one of the park's most popular attractions.

The six victims were riding in two boats gliding down a slope when the power supply malfunctioned. Water pumps on the ride failed, leaving no water for the ride's carriages to float on. As there was no water to cushion the impact of the boats as they raced down the slope, they careered straight through the stop area and crashed, propelling one woman from her seat.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has ordered officials to inspect all amusement parks in Bangkok.

However, Bangkok deputy governor Banasopit Mekvichai explained it was difficult to regulate some amusement parks, including Siam Park, because they were built before the Buildings Control Act was brought into force.

The Interior Ministry, however, is in the process of drafting legislation to control all amusement parks across the country, she said.

Police yesterday pressed charges against two staff of Siam Park in connection with the accident.

Pol Maj-Gen Pisanupong Yukthathat, chief of the Metropolitan Police division 4, said Thosapol Nak-usa and Supalak Thadthong, who were responsible for controlling the rides and electricity systems at Siam Park, have been charged with recklessness and causing death.

Chaiwat Luang-amornlert, Siam Park chairman and founder, blamed the accident on the power failure.

Siam Park has provided initial financial assistance of 20,000 baht to the family of the dead victim.

Police spokesman Pol Lt-Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen yesterday visited 10-year-old Supattra Wong-anu, one of the injured victims, at Nopparat Ratchathani Hospital and gave her a birthday cake. Her stepmother, Pacharaporn Khongkarian, 34, died in the accident.

The park's assistant director, Noppakan Luang-amornlert, gave her a gold necklace, an amulet of the Kuan Yin goddess, a doll and a life-long membership to Siam Park.

The park also promised financial support to see her through to university.

(Providing the lifetime membership at the park doesn't kill her before then.)

Supattra and her family were celebrating her birthday at Siam Park when the tragedy occurred.

Bangkok Post

Edited October 25, 2007 by Tony Clifton

[astral]

Ah well.

I always enjoyed that ride.

[drummachine]

omg poor people. A place of fun turns into a nightmare, what is happening. Safety checks are paramount in any business.

Edited January 12, 2008 by drummachine

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Chaiwat Luengamornlert, the owner of Suan Siam park

Fun park offers to settle out of court

Suan Siam amusement park yesterday asked Bangkok's Min Buri Court to allow negotiations over a lawsuit filed by the family of a woman killed on its "Indiana Log" ride last October.

Pachadaporn Khongkrarian died when the water-sluice passenger boat she was riding on collided violently with another. Before the case went to court, the family initially demanded Bt600,000 compensation but raised it to Bt5million.

The park's lawyer, Anek Khamchum, told the court that the defendants wished to pay the family about Bt700,000 in compensation as well as shoulder the cost of the victim's two daughters' schooling until they complete a university degree.

The plaintiff's lawyer agreed to drop the lawsuit if such a compensation package was agreed upon.

The court postponed the trial to April 21.

- Daily Xpress (today)