28 Children Injured In Siam Park Water Slide Accident

[sriracha john]

Can't have a proper news story unless you got a photo of a cop pointing at something.... in this case, part of the collapsed slide, which, for some reason, apparently needs red circling.

Matichon newspaper online

[tiresias]

I have complained earlier here at this forum about the bad state the amusement parks have in Thailand, and this news is so sad to read. Children getting hurt! My children where asked a couple of years ago to join their school for an trip to the Siam Park, I refused to let them join and got soure comments from the other childrens parent for that.

I can only say, for other parent to not let your kids ride hazardous fun park rides, they are just not up to safe standards.

The safest time to go on one of these rides is after an accident like this...

[distortedlink]

My Thai brother in law, who is a lawyer in Bangkok once told me, that in Thailand people are allowed to do what they like with hardly any restrictions regarding safety and accident prevention. If anyone comes unstuck, it's down to him or her.

The recent horrific traffic accident statistics proved that his statement is correct and how often is anyone in Thailand brought to book for contravening safety or even hygiene regulations. Very rare unless the injured parties are VIPS or rich.

Knowing the lax attitudes over here regarding safety and the lack of enforcement of safety laws, this rather puts more emphasis on parents to be totally aware of the dangers they may be exposing their children to in the name of fun and entertainment and that includes us adults as well.

Although we have no need to get fanatical about how much risk is involved by whatever we are doing in Thailand, it is worth keeping in mind that Western safety standards are not considered a priority here and most times well at the bottom of the agenda.

The answer is: don't have to be fanatical, but be aware, the dangers exist and are real.

BE SAFE ALL.

Edited January 12, 2008 by distortedlink

[stepenwolf1958]

Most of the 28 injured childred suffered head injuries, with some broken limbs and bruises.

Four children remain in critical condition.

Mr. Wuthichai said Siam Park accepts responsibility for the accident and pledged to cover all treatment expenses.

Does he think that should be the end of it by just covering all the treatment expenses??

IF YOU MEANT ABOUT STATE OF SHOCK,EMOTIONAL STRESS AND PSYCHO MATTERS...THEN YES,THAT WOULD BE ALL AND THAT WOULD BE END OF STORY,EVEN IF SOMEONE HAVE LIFE INSURANCE POLICY...

THAT'S THE WAY IT IS HERE...

ONCE AGAIN,THAIS SHOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE CARELESS AND LAZY...

[kat]

Presumably the owner will offer those injured Bt10000 (sorry, that is only for death) but perhaps they will get the free lifetime pass to come back and try to kill themselves once more.

It should be shut down and he should be locked up and the key thrown away.

To avoid the risk of being deleted by the moderator for submitting an "Anti-Thailand rant, I'll try to make this submission of constructive criticism.

In the the 15 years that I've lived here there have been that many calamities involving machinary, vessels, structures and equipment, where there was loss of life, that if you kept a list, it would be as long as your arm.

There's been ferries' that have capsized - to numerous to count - that were overloaded and probably had insufficient life jackets. There was a hotel that caught fire and the fire escape exit was locked - the result being that a number of tourists were burnt to death. I remember back in the nineties there was a spate of construction cranes falling over. The list of negligence could just go on and on. Safety is a cultural mindset. In the west, operations or organisations, accept that they have a duty of care to protect their employees, customers or clientelle, and make every effort to do so. Granted that HSE laws in the western world have real teeth but there is also an underlying mindset which doesn't exist to any degree in this country unfortunately - it's called being held accountable, or responsible, for your actions.

The underlying cause of what happened at Siam water park was more than likely simply having no PMS (planned maintenance system) in place. In other words, no periodic inspections of the equipment were probably ever done to identify faults or weaknesses in the structure. That comes down to a management responsibility - something which takes foresight, planning and BRAINS. Until people in positions of leadership/management, in Thailand, accept that they have to put safety before profit, nothing will ever change.

Yes, and the duty above is also called "liability." There is no insurance or legal and financial liability here, only "compensation" which is no where near a punitive extraction. As long as they can claim lives through gross negligence and lack of duty with very little cost or financial impacts, they will, because the reality is that it is a trade off that works better for them, since they well never be held responsible by enforcements. Life is cheap!

[sriracha john]

Waterslide plunge injures 24 kids

National Children's Day ended yesterday in a nightmare for many parents, as 24 children were injured when the three-storey Super Spiral waterslide at Bangkok's Siam Park partially collapsed under them. Published on January 13, 2008

At about 4.30pm several children aged 10-12 passed through the last curve of the twisting waterslide only to find themselves falling through a one-foot gap and hitting the ground two metres below.

Initially 13 children were rushed to Nopparat Ratcha-thani Hospital, but parents later reported that 11 more had been hurt. Sutthatip Phromthong, 40, who visited the park in Khan Na Yao district with her husband and two children, told The Nation at the hospital that their five-year-old son Juthipong Phromthong had asked her if he could ride the Super Spiral. She let him go alone.

Since she and her children were regular visitors to the park, she let Juthipong and his elder sister play by themselves and sat not far away to watch them.

While looking at her son gliding down the giant amusement ride, she saw several children fall through the opening on the curve, hitting rocks or plants. Her son followed them. He cried and complained of pain in his arm and leg.

The boy saw the riders ahead of him drop through the opening and tried to grab onto the side walls, but they were too smooth. The mother said park executives approached her at the hospital promising to take care of medical expenses.

"I just want my son safe. I'm glad that he's just slightly hurt. We're waiting for the doctor to let him go home," she said.

The park's managing director said management would take responsibility for medical costs and urged parents not to worry, because the children were all right.

*True, it's not like anyone died or anything.... what's a few broken arms, legs, and several concussions? It's nothing to worry about*

The Super Spiral ride will be closed for repairs, and engineers will inspect it for defects. Their findings will be reported to the media later.

Many parents waited outside the hospital's emergency unit, some mothers in tears.

Noppakan Leungamornphan, an executive of Amornphan Nakhon-Suan Siam Co, said the low-speed waterslide was 15 years old and had been well maintained, unlike the Indiana Log water ride, which caused one death and five injuries last October when its pump failed.

*See? Our other previous catastrophe was much worse*

The cause of the accident will be investigated, she said, adding that the park procured good-quality rides from world-class suppliers but malfunctions could happen for many reasons.

- The Nation

Edited January 12, 2008 by sriracha john

[kat]

Tony Jr. is one day old today

He sleeps soundly right now in a warm incubator and has no idea of the easily preventable carnage going on all over this country.

The decision to leave this place was taken the very same day the pregnancy test proved positive.

Hey - congratulations Tony .... Sr.

[ttthailand]

I have been in the entertainment industry for over 17 years and have met the owners of many parks and entertainment sites in Thailand and Asia. One thing for sure that is above safety is cost. They won't say it directly but their actions speak louder then words. One entertainment area in Pattaya even went so far as to build there own rides so they did not have to pay the cost of real rides. They have already had problems but somehow keep operating. It takes skilled engineers who have been in the industry for years to safely design amusement rides. They know ALL the required safety issues that need to be addressed. For someone to make a decision to build an amusement ride just to save a few dollars has to be crazy. I have walked through some of these parks and could not believe some of the things I have seen. Even the operation of the rides are not performed correctly. I have seen one operator controlling two children rides at one time. Operators starting rides without even checking to see if everyone was seated and then talking to friends and never even looking back to see if everything was fine or not. I could go on and on but it would not help anything, trust me ! My advise is to never get on or near an amusement ride in Thailand. Most would never pass a true inspection.

[AlexLah]

This is all Karma right, according to Thai believes.

Please post this in the Buddhism forum.

[JetsetBkk]

"...adding that the Siam Park bought it from a company in Canada."

Expect it to be Canada's fault.

Of course - they didn't supply a "Maintenance Manual" written in Thai.

[Tony Clifton]

"...adding that the Siam Park bought it from a company in Canada."

Expect it to be Canada's fault.

Of course - they didn't supply a "Maintenance Manual" written in Thai.

It's like cooking mama noodles to them, "Just add water".

[Mearsy]

This is just so sad, and for this to happen on Children's Day! May we pray that the Thai powers-that-be actually take action about this. After all, this disaster has happened to Thai children. I sincerely hope that the four critically injured children recover from this. What a disaster at the start of New Year!

[slapout]

The whole thing will be dismissed as 'bad luck'. How many of these children rode to the park as a passenger on motorbike with no helmet on? How many times have you seen driver with helmet but children are not given the same? When most of the society believe in good luck pieces, magic people, color of dress, blessing the vehicle, etc you add the rest, what do you expect? I call incidents like this, delayed birth control, due to my complete lack of understanding of the typical mind set. In my short time living in this great country, (15 years) I have harped on many safety topics, refused to go to many places and took my family out of some. I have been blessed with 2 children (now teenagers) who think I am over protective. I hope someday they realize, that luck, is determined by a decision which has been made by someone. My thoughts are with these children and their families.

[jumnien]

I worked for 7 years in Los Angeles for a structural engineering firm designing rides such as the Earthquake and Jaws rides at Universal Studios, many Disney rides, and various safety inspection duties. On the whole, the rides themselves at the larger parks in America are statistically very safe indeed. The big problem is the parking lots where many injuries and deaths happen every year due to gang activity and alcohol and drug induced violence. Magic Mountain is well known as a gangster party on weekends. Not a place to take your family. I hope that the parks in Thailand commence a rigorous inspection and maintenance program. The model in the West is there.

[Miami Bob]

As much as I dislike the constant law suits going on in the USA, that is one of the primary reasons why USA safety standards are adheared to so much better than a country like Thailand. In the USA all the parents would be sueing the amusment park for millions, so the insurance companies require certain standards or they will cancel the parks insurance.

[sriracha john]

What I'm having particular difficulty with is the number injured... apparently only one section of the slide gave way and after the first few kids went through it and ended up getting thrown to the ground... and that the the line of kids that apparently followed the same path seems so excessively high. I would have expected that after the first 2 or 3 kids, word would have been sent to the top of the slide... "Hey, stop sending kids down... they're getting expelled out and breaking femurs."

To get to the high number of injured to 24 makes it sound like a long procession of lemmings....without any timely intervention.

Edited January 13, 2008 by sriracha john

[preahko]

"...adding that the Siam Park bought it from a company in Canada."

Expect it to be Canada's fault.

precisely. ah, the peaceful Buddhist land of smiles, where people pull off to the side of the road to move a dying bird or dog off to the side, but they shoot human protesters dead in the streets, barrel down tiny sois in vans at racetrack speeds without regard for small children walking, construct buildings with no regard for structural or electrical safety...etc....and then blame it on the farangs (on whom they're dependent for ALL their technology and know-how) when the slightest thing goes wrong.

preahko

[sriracha john]

A mechanic checks a joint which broke loose.

Children's Day horror

Some children plunged into the edge of the pool from the Super Spiral, which was about five metres high at the point of the accident. The injuries ranged from head wounds to bruises. The children were sent to Nopparat Hospital. The cause of the accident is still unknown. Siam Park staff reportedly barred rescue workers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation from helping the injured children, saying theme park staff could attend to them.

Noppakarn Luangamornlert, deputy managing director of Amornphant Nakorn-Suan Siam, which runs the theme park, insisted park staff had checked the slide before allowing the children to go on it. It is the second time in less than four months that the amusement park has experienced significant safety failures.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/topstories/tops...s.php?id=125083

Edited January 13, 2008 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Faulty Siam Park ride closed indefinitely

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has ordered the closure of the Super Spiral water slide until further notice. The Siam Park slide which broke loose on Saturday resulted in several children being tossed off the ride. Deputy Bangkok Governor Wallop Suwandee said the BMA’s engineering team are now tasked with inspecting the Super Spiral as well as the safety of the 29 other rides at the amusement park. It is preparing to press charges against owners of Siam Park for failing to ensure the safety of patrons.

This is the second time in less than four months that the theme park had experienced significant safety failures. In October, staff error led to the death of a woman on one of the rides. Latest reports stated that the number of injuries from Saturday’s accident stood at 24, the most serious of the injuries being

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=125086

[Briggsy]

What I'm having particular difficulty with is the number injured... apparently only one section of the slide gave way and after the first few kids went through it and ended up getting thrown to the ground... and that the the line of kids that apparently followed the same path seems so excessively high. I would have expected that after the first 2 or 3 kids, word would have been sent to the top of the slide... "Hey, stop sending kids down... they're getting expelled out and breaking femurs."

To get to the high number of injured to 24 makes it sound like a long procession of lemmings....without any timely intervention.

Indeed unlike similar large slides in Spain where there is an attendant to space out the riders and to stop new riders getting on in case of an accident, here there is no attendant and all the kids just pile on willy nilly. Have you ever got on or off a bus in Thailand? That's the model you should have in mind.

[timekeeper]

i just said to my thai wife (a teacher) did you see the news about the accident at Siam park, she said 'yes' in a very unconcerned manner, i said does it not surprise you? she said 'everyone knows Siam park is dangerous, government know for long time' i said you ever take kids there? she said 'no its not safe, school not want problem'. so there you go a Thais opinion of it, still very sad to hear though about the accident. i hope all concerned fully recover very soon

[Briggsy]

Ha! Just close the already-knackered 20-year-old ride. What a joke! Why not close the whole park? Until action is taken that forces the owner to comply, more needless accidents will happen.

Ah well, they get the government they deserve.

[ratcatcher]

CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE - Definition - Wikipedia.

"In the criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind") element required to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability offence. It is defined as:

careless, inattentive, neglectful, willfully blind, or in the case of gross negligence what would have been reckless in any other defendant. "

The owners of Siam Park were criminally negligent. Can anyone argue for them?

[scratt]

I would go down the slide with the kids , just for their safety.

*cough* That's your story and you're sticking to it! *cough* 'Erm, what exactly were you going to do if the ride collapsed!??! Turn into Superman!?!?!

But seriously, all these people that say they saw this ride and for some time have 'known' it was an accident waiting to happen.. What did YOU do about it then?

It's all very well blaming the kind of selfish idiot who runs or owns these places, and moaning about the government which also doesn't really give two hoots... But what have any of you done to try and solve this problem?

Edited January 13, 2008 by scratt

[Jockstar]

I would have expected that after the first 2 or 3 kids, word would have been sent to the top of the slide... "Hey, stop sending kids down... they're getting expelled out and breaking femurs.

Here in lies a problem SJ. I have been to this park with the kids about 5 times over the years. Not once have i seen a steward at the top of the slide telling kids to wait. Basically what happens the kids get to the top and just train down together. No one stops them.

[khun_j]

ohmygod

guess where my daughter was yesterday, attending a b-day party?

right...

i thank for her guardian angel

[toptuan]

The Super Spiral ride will be closed for repairs, and engineers will inspect it for defects. Their findings will be reported to the media later.

- The Nation

I lived next to Thai university engineering students for two years. The scene? Partying 24/7. Never once saw anyone crack a book, and only saw them attend classes at mid-terms and finals weeks.

I wonder if there's any correlation between those who are the gatekeepers of Thailand's engineering safety and their "training?" Just a distant hunch.

Edited January 13, 2008 by toptuan

[Tony Clifton]

I would go down the slide with the kids , just for their safety.

*cough* That's your story and you're sticking to it! *cough* 'Erm, what exactly were you going to do if the ride collapsed!??! Turn into Superman!?!?!

But seriously, all these people that say they saw this ride and for some time have 'known' it was an accident waiting to happen.. What did YOU do about it then?

It's all very well blaming the kind of selfish idiot who runs or owns these places, and moaning about the government which also doesn't really give two hoots... But what have any of you done to try and solve this problem?

I' m afraid a public forum is the last safe frontier where one can seriously complain without putting his life at risk, especially a foreigner. Do you seriously think the local English language newspapers would publish a reader's complaint about the park and possibly get shot themselves or experience some other form of retaliation? Remember this is a place where business people sometimes have competitors murdered, policemen chop off waitresses arms and shoot tourists.

What did YOU or what will YOU NOW do about it? Spare us the guilt trip

Edited January 13, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[grantbkk]

The engineers who are responsible for the safe operation of these children's rides will soon be transferring to the Department of Nuclear Reactor Building and with plans found on the INTERNET begin constructing time bombs in several areas along the beaches here in the Kingdom. Sometimes I wish I were Thai so I could take advantage of the excellent business opportunity and guaranteed huge money maker at each site. Thai adult entertainment is where the money is.

It is criminal that anyone has to be injured under these circumstances but TIT. I feel very sorry for the kids that were hurt.

[thaigene2]

"...adding that the Siam Park bought it from a company in Canada."

Expect it to be Canada's fault.

Of course - they didn't supply a "Maintenance Manual" written in Thai.

Just like they pinned that air crash in phuket entirely on the foreign pilot. Thailand makes no mistakes. Now repeat that..