Pattaya firework tragedy: Tributes for popular Brit, 51, who was due to marry his Thai sweetheart this month

[jonnodon]

51 years old, or too young to die.

Bit of common sense might have not gone astray.

These things are illegal in a lot of countries, because they can kill.

especially when made in this area of the world, sold so cheap.

What do you expect.

Really feel for him and his family, and hope some lessons are learnt.

Lesson 1 would be a 2 minute walk to the beach to watch the professionals do their work.

[CharlieH]

Callous troll remark and responses removed.

[herwin1234]

BASIC RULE we are hammered into us back in Europe since childhood....DONT RETURN TO UNEXPLODED FIREWORKS. 

He sure might be a supernice guy <snip>  Fireworks THAT SIZE is just a small bomb, even when drunk you should remember that.

Anyway, the Darwin Award of the month....

 

 

[The Deerhunter]

9 hours ago, Yadon Toploy said:

He's a Brit, and we were repeatedly told at school not to go back to lit fireworks. This is why.

 

Must have had a drink in him as well so probably wasn't thinking, poor sod.

 

Up in the village last night they were all setting off these fireworks, kids as young as 10 too. 

 

RIP Gary.

 

 

He had obviously become too well acclimatised in safety procedures in LOS.  Alcohol can do that but who knows!  R.I.P.2

[Kan Win]

3 hours ago, Kan Win said:

Rest in Peace Gary McLaren  

Very sad  to read that folks still post RIP instead of Rest in Peace. 

 

Win  

 

[Elkski]

I will not relight  fireworks  like I have.  Maybe just leave this job to experts.   RIP.   

[Rimmer]

More troll posts removed

[jimn]

45 minutes ago, Kan Win said:

Very sad  to read that folks still post RIP instead of Rest in Peace. 

 

Win  

 

RIP

[Ramen087]

His death was unnecessary and caused by his own carelessness. I’m not writing this to be cruel; the video shows this to be a fact.  Large fireworks like the one in the video are not toys; they’re serious explosives.

 

This is a most unfortunate situation for him, and those that loved and cared about him.  I see no need to pile on with insults, especially about his upcoming nuptials. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Ramen087

[taxin]

3 hours ago, jonnodon said:

Lesson 1 would be a 2 minute walk to the beach to watch the professionals do their work.

Lesson one is to move far away as possible from fireworks, not walk towards the beach where there are more being set off.
 

After being hit by a faulty firework while on a Thailand beach 8 years ago (one of the most painful things to happen to me) I always stay indoors now on New Years Eve.

[The Deerhunter]

3 hours ago, Kan Win said:

Very sad  to read that folks still post RIP instead of Rest in Peace. 

 

Win  

 

One is simply an abbreviation of the other.  It is widely recognised. Surely it is not dismissive or impolite. How is that a problem for you?

[jacko45k]

50 minutes ago, taxin said:

I always stay indoors now on New Years Eve.

With the cat? (Me too)

[CharlieH]

More posts removed.

 

This was a tragic accident, if you feel the need to comment please keep it respectful.

 

Thank you.

[natway09]

My thoughts are with his fiancee & friends..... Sad

It could have been one of many of us

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Would have been a very different story if the firework had fallen over and taken out an innocent bystander. 

Yes it would. But it didn't.

 

6 hours ago, PBXVS1100 said:

Sad, but is it just me or does it look like he isn’t even trying to move away. His placing his face directly above the explosive possible to self harm or commit suicide.???

Suicidal? Just back from introducing his fiancee to his family in the UK over Christmas and due to get married in a little over a fortnight? Gary wasn't suicidal but if ever he would have been, he wouldn't be ending it all by blowing half his head off with a bloody big firework!

 

6 hours ago, PBXVS1100 said:

He was a racing engineer for Suzuki’s motogp team and won while he was on the team a few times there.  He wasn’t a stupid person. But if that wasn’t on purpose he must have been really boozed up. 

No doubt Gary and his mates had partaken of a fair few sherbets... it was New Years after all. Sometimes he wore glasses for close up work and maybe he left the former on the table in the bar. It is easy for us to read something into the video as we weren't there but knowing Gary, he may have had problems seeing what was going on regardless of how much drink he'd consumed.

 

Gary was a personal friend of mine of several years standing and we have caroused in the same bar and a few others in Pattaya so I speak from personal experience.

[sitanonchai]

RIP

[metempsychotic]

23 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

death tends to knock on the door early for 'nice guys' for some strange reason... RIP

Sigh. 

 

Nice guy or not he was playing with explosives while Impaired. what difference would it have made had he been of a different temperament with an equally hot match? 

 

I'm not sure what is worse, the fact that you felt the need to injerject such an inane truism into the discussion, or that 11 people felt the need to commend you for paraphrasing "only the good die young"

 

Well done Billy joel

[sirineou]

I wish I had not read this story. ,

The poor guy is gone, but his lovely bride has to live with what might had being How Sad, 

[from the home of CC]

22 minutes ago, metempsychotic said:

Sigh. 

 

Nice guy or not he was playing with explosives while Impaired. what difference would it have made had he been of a different temperament with an equally hot match? 

 

I'm not sure what is worse, the fact that you felt the need to injerject such an inane truism into the discussion, or that 11 people felt the need to commend you for paraphrasing "only the good die young"

 

Well done Billy joel

who?

[brianthainess]

A very nice man but.....

[HauptmannUK]

Thank goodness no passers-by were maimed or killed. Smart guy or nice guy, but he had no business taking a thing like that into a small soi.

Some years ago I got involved with a voluntary organisation. We ran several firework displays and I was trained to set them up. Everything up to a device the size of a small bucket. 

I have handled fireworks similar to that shown in the video and you'd want to keep the audience 10 or more metres away. Also secure it in ballast.

I remember as a kid 50+ years ago seeing the TV adverts, 'Light up the sky with Standard fireworks'.  This would be shown with, 'Always follow the Firework Code'. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by HauptmannUK

[wileycoyote]

So sad 

RIP

[yogavnture]

im confused why he was leaning over the top of that firework when he lit it?????  was he drinking??????

[mike787]

RIP.  Anyone interested in starting a go fund to support his fiancé and funeral arrangements I’ll chip in.

[madmen]

24 minutes ago, mike787 said:

RIP.  Anyone interested in starting a go fund to support his fiancé and funeral arrangements I’ll chip in.

She has a job ! 

[Huckenfell]

23 hours ago, Yadon Toploy said:

He's a Brit, and we were repeatedly told at school not to go back to lit fireworks. This is why.

 

Must have had a drink in him as well so probably wasn't thinking, poor sod.

 

Up in the village last night they were all setting off these fireworks, kids as young as 10 too. 

 

RIP Gary.

 

 

A very good reason why fireworks should not be available to all and sundry. Because of so many such accidents, it is forbidden by law for persons to generally have fireworks in Australia, this has reduced the accident rate massively.

[DennisE]

14 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but bending over and putting your face right over a massive firework ain't the best idea, especially when you can see that it's lit.

A moment of madness, RIP

He was obviously too close after lighting the fuse but it looks like maybe he had one get stuck in the tube. They are not supposed to do that but it happens. In fact we had a few do that as well I have the whole incident on video on Facebook. And we had a bottle rocket that was properly set up perfectly just fling sideways right over my head and over everyone standing nearby me. But no one was hurt. You never ever stand like that looking over the tube after the fuse is lit if he hadn’t done that he still might’ve been burned but he would have survived. I’ve had several of those things explode near me before and I was never hurt. It looks like it actually did launch just as he was looking into the tube that would have easily been enough force to kill someone having one of those launched directly into your face at close range, those mortar shells pack a punch. I don’t know if it exploded in the tube though in the video it looks like it launched into his face less than a foot above the tube. 

[DennisE]

I’ve had a few do that to me before in the past and I wouldn’t approach it if it doesn’t go off like a dud or something just get a hose and just soak it with water if you can. Maybe he had a slow fuse or something and thought it was a dud. That’s what it looks like happened in the video. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by DennisE

[mmushr00m]

As a child playing with fireworks, I was told...if you light the fuse, it's live. Does not matter if it didn't go off, it's live. 

[Rick1812]

But fireworks are illegal, as is prostitution.