Video: Samui jet ski men to the rescue - boys saved from drowning as tourists continue to ignore red flags

 

Picture: Naew Na

 

A jet ski operator on Koh Samui's popular Chaweng Beach said that tourists continue to ignore warnings and red flags about the dangers of swimming. 

 

Piyanan Jaipiam, who runs Dolphin Jet Ski on the beach, was the man who filmed a video after he directed two of his friends to run into the ocean to save two boys from drowning. 

 

Patiyate and Nuanthong raced into the heavy surf with bodyboards as Piyanan gave instructions on Saturday afternoon. The boys - aged between 12 and 16 - had cried for help after getting into difficulties.

 

Both were successfully brought to shore and given a stern reminder not to go in the sea. Piyapan said that his friends would "dai bun" or gain merit for their actions. 

 

He told Naew Na later that despite red flags put out by hotels and businesses people tourists were still ignoring the danger at this time. The two boys were among about ten that had been warned by the jet ski operator not to enter the sea. 

 

He said there had been many deaths of tourists as well as many rescues and tourists really need to start heeding the warnings. 

 

Source: Naew Na

 

 

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Samui's drowning season typically falls between 01 Nov and 31 March.

HTH

Edited February 3, 20206 yr by evadgib

2 hours ago, evadgib said:

 

Samui's drowning season typically falls between 01 Nov and 31 March.

HTH

Good post, Evadgib ! I got swept out in  rip on Karon Beach in Phuket many years ago, so far out I could barely see the island, and when I finally made it back, hours later, I was told by a local that sometimes a few people a day were drowned on this beach. At the time there were so flags flying, and I had a red boxed warning placed in "The Rough Guide to Thailand" in the Phuket section of the book. Years later, in Pattaya, I bumped into an old acqaintance who told me he had lost his wife in Phuket, body never found, and when I said "Was it on Karon Beach" ? he replied "How did you know" ?

 Maybe the warning wasn't understood due to differences in language, if the children were tourists. Anyway well done to the rescuers. Plenty of similar frustrations in Australia getting tourists to understand the dangers and the meaning of flag signage.

18 minutes ago, Aussieroaming said:

 Maybe the warning wasn't understood due to differences in language, if the children were tourists. Anyway well done to the rescuers. Plenty of similar frustrations in Australia getting tourists to understand the dangers and the meaning of flag signage.

I might be wrong, but surely most people would know a red flag means it's not safe to swim?  

 

 

Well done the jet ski operator and his friends. Hopefully the 2 young boys learned a valuable lesson. 

2 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

I might be wrong, but surely most people would know a red flag means it's not safe to swim?  

 

 

Sounds very like a beat-up they did with Lamai last year.

This is the first 'Positive' item I've heard about Jet-Ski operators for a while.

11 hours ago, evadgib said:

 

Samui's drowning season typically falls between 01 Nov and 31 March.

HTH

That was a good video, thanks!

7 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

I might be wrong, but surely most people would know a red flag means it's not safe to swim?  

 

 

The life saving on Chaweng beach is fairly disorganised, if any order exists at all. There seems to be no central authority to put the flags, looks like the hotels put them for their visitors, and sometimes they are not very visible as they are not close to the surf. No wonder the jet ski operators helped as there is no other qualified help around.

 

I swim quite often around that place around 100-150m from the shore and then parallel,  usually the main danger are the jet skis which seem to roam everywhere. The waves here are usually much smaller than Oz or places like Kuta/Bali, so if there are rips they are not that powerful.  Looks like the boys were just not good swimmers and got scared.

 

18 hours ago, evadgib said:

 

Samui's drowning season typically falls between 01 Nov and 31 March.

HTH

Many thanks for the post Evadglib. It just proves some sayings are always true........You learn something new every day, or, you are never too old to learn...............

P.S. I wonder if it would be an idea to make a post of this video on its own thread to reach a larger audience.....Could save a few lives.....

Please film in landscape next time lives are in peril

On 2/3/2020 at 11:57 AM, evadgib said:

 

Samui's drowning season typically falls between 01 Nov and 31 March.

HTH

Good on em ????

i got caught in a riptide on Chaweng once-

took me 1/2 hr to get back to shore