Samui Boat Accident

[stumonster]

5 dead, 20 missing in tourist accident

From correspondents in Bangkok

January 25, 2005

AT least five people were killed, including four foreign tourists, and 20 other people were missing after their boat capsized today off the south-eastern Thai island of Koh Samui, police said.

"As of now we have recovered five bodies including three male foreign tourists and one female tourist and a Thai passenger," Major Samai Prompakol, a senior police officer in Samui, said.

"We believe that some 20 are still missing because there were 40 passengers on the boat and half of them were rescued," he said.

He said police believed the boat was overloaded.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

[limbos]

Hi Stu,

Just got back from the scene and reported on this as well under Speedboat sank during Full Moon transfers.

8 bodies are recovered sofar, 6 foreign and 2 Thai.

Apparently one body is still trapped inside the wreck and 10 persons are still missing, getting close to the total

Never seen so much Samui police in one spot excepty during the Nathon daily change of guards.

Hopefully local authorities will use this tragic event to implement strong regulations on the wild west scenes of the speedboats. Overloading is a very common problem and accidents where bound to happen.

Sad that it happens almost a month to the day after the Tsunami.

[Petesear]

does anyone know a web site where i can get upto date news about this?

[Insight]

Latest report from CNN:

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/...ailand.boat.ap/

Details are still vague, but this is looking like the beginning of one terrible year for tourism in Thailand

I hope the remaining passengers are found well very soon.

[stumonster]

7 dead, 10 missing in tourist mishap

From correspondents in Bangkok

January 25, 2005

AT least seven people were killed, including four foreign tourists, and at least 10 people were missing after an overloaded speedboat capsized today off the Thai island of Koh Samui, police said.

The boat was returning to the south-eastern island of Samui from the famous all-night full moon party on the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan, which attracts thousands of travellers and ravers from around the world.

AAP reports that a Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Government was aware of the accident and the Australian embassy in Thailand was making inquiries.

No information was available on whether there were any Australian casualties.

Colonel Bandid Tungkaseni, commander of Surat Thani marine police, said seven bodies had been recovered – three foreign men, one foreign woman, two Thais, and one body that could not be identified.

Disaster management officials said 10 people were missing.

"There were 40 passengers on the boat and half of them were rescued," said Major Samai Prompakol, a senior police officer in Samui.

Police said the passengers had been to the huge party held every month on the beach at Haad Rin in Koh Phangan which in peak season draws tens of thousands of partygoers to the island.

Colonel Bandid said the speedboat was carrying too many passengers when it capsized a few kilometres from Koh Samui.

"The cause of the accident was likely that the boat was overloaded, because it was not allowed to carry more than 30 passengers," he said.

The accident came as Thailand's vital tourism industry is still reeling from the December 26 tsunami that killed more than 5300 people, half of them believed to be foreign holidaymakers.

The tsunami struck six south-western provinces on Thailand's Andaman coast. The boating accident happened off the other coast, which had been unaffected by the killer waves and had had a surge in bookings as tourists rearranged their holidays.

"The accident will absolutely affect the tourism industry, as we had placed our hopes on the Gulf of Thailand" for a rebound in tourism, deputy interior minister Sutham Sangprathum said.

The minister said he had charged the deputy director-general of the ministry's disaster management unit to oversee the rescue operation, but he would not elaborate on the cause of the accident.

"The accident could have been caused by several factors including weather or overloading the boat. We have to investigate further," he said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

[udon]

ABC NEWS (aus)

[Amethyst]

Just to advice everyone not to go to any beaches in South Thailand for about 6 month or more..Becaus ethere are still alot of Lost spirits and souls out there...Just read the local thai newspapers theres alot of stories about some1 seeing sprit at night

[traveldog]

Just to advice everyone not to go to any beaches in South Thailand for about 6 month or more..Becaus ethere are still alot of Lost spirits and souls out there...Just read the local thai newspapers theres alot of stories about some1 seeing sprit at night

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uh tytus,

I hope you are kidding right? Please tell me you are kidding....and you read it in a Thai newspaper-well there's an impeccable authority....there are no ghosts or spirits haunting the beaches here in Phuket....I go swimming everyday and the only spooky thing here in Phuket is that we have no tourists, and businesses are shutting their doors, staff are being laid off. Phuket and the rest of the Andamans need people to visit and your advice is pure crap and certainly poor timing.

[tuky]

Just to advice everyone not to go to any beaches in South Thailand for about 6 month or more..Becaus ethere are still alot of Lost spirits and souls out there...Just read the local thai newspapers theres alot of stories about some1 seeing sprit at night

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uh tytus,

I hope you are kidding right? Please tell me you are kidding....and you read it in a Thai newspaper-well there's an impeccable authority....there are no ghosts or spirits haunting the beaches here in Phuket....I go swimming everyday and the only spooky thing here in Phuket is that we have no tourists, and businesses are shutting their doors, staff are being laid off. Phuket and the rest of the Andamans need people to visit and your advice is pure crap and certainly poor timing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

steady on traveldog, whilst we all agree that there is no reason for tourist to stop coming, and the country needs more tourists right now, what you have just done is belittled a Thai persons beliefs. My wife tells me she will never ever visit Phuket etc again as she can hear the ghosts from where we live, and they keep her awake at night. I am in no position to tell her that she is nuts as this is what she and perhaps the majority of her fellow nationals believe.

No matter how many times I could tell her everything is alright I will never convince her, as you will never convince tytus, especially with an attack.

[Insight]

Just to advice everyone not to go to any beaches in South Thailand for about 6 month or more..Becaus ethere are still alot of Lost spirits and souls out there...Just read the local thai newspapers theres alot of stories about some1 seeing sprit at night

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uh tytus,

I hope you are kidding right? Please tell me you are kidding....and you read it in a Thai newspaper-well there's an impeccable authority....there are no ghosts or spirits haunting the beaches here in Phuket....I go swimming everyday and the only spooky thing here in Phuket is that we have no tourists, and businesses are shutting their doors, staff are being laid off. Phuket and the rest of the Andamans need people to visit and your advice is pure crap and certainly poor timing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

steady on traveldog, whilst we all agree that there is no reason for tourist to stop coming, and the country needs more tourists right now, what you have just done is belittled a Thai persons beliefs. My wife tells me she will never ever visit Phuket etc again as she can hear the ghosts from where we live, and they keep her awake at night. I am in no position to tell her that she is nuts as this is what she and perhaps the majority of her fellow nationals believe.

No matter how many times I could tell her everything is alright I will never convince her, as you will never convince tytus, especially with an attack.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fully agree. Many Thai people I know of various ages and sexes are saying similar things - it's part of their beliefs. Expect a massive, deserved backlash if you go publicly knocking them.

[bkk2004]

From news.com.au

Eight killed as boat capsizes

From correspondents in Bangkok

January 25, 2005

From: Agence France-Presse

AT least eight people, including five foreign tourists, have died and 17 are missing after an overloaded speedboat capsized off Koh Samui, police said.

The boat was returning to the island in south-eastern Thailand from the famous all-night full moon party on the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan, which attracts thousands of travellers and ravers from around the world.

Seven bodies had been recovered while an eighth victim died in hospital, police said.

"We know only one victim's nationality, and that is of the latest, a 25-year-old American man," Lieutenant Colonel Veerayuth Hiran, commander of Samui tourist police, said.

"The remaining four (foreigners) have no any identification papers."

The American died at a hospital on Koh Samui, Lt-Col Hiran said.

"Of the three Thais, we believe one was a member of the speedboat crew and the other two were Thai tourists."

Lt-Col Hiran said 13 people were missing, all foreign tourists, but police suspected some may have been rescued and would turn up later.

Advertisement:

Police said 40 passengers had been travelling on the overloaded boat when it capsized a few kilometres from Koh Samui.

The travellers had been to the huge party held every month on the beach at Haad Rin in Koh Phangan, which draws tens of thousands of partygoers to the island in peak season.

"The cause of the accident was likely that the boat was overloaded, because it was not allowed to carry more than 30 passengers," Colonel Bandid Tungkaseni, commander of Surat Thani marine police, said.

An injured Thai survivor told visiting Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula, who took a helicopter trip to Samui from the main tsunami victim identification centre in Phuket, the boat was so crowded passengers had to stand on board.

"There was no space for me to sit and no-one was offered a life vest," Intat Haechoo, a 28-year-old from northern Thailand, told Mr Bhokin from his hospital bed.

Vijit Vichaisan, the governor of Surat Thani, the south-eastern province that includes the paradise islands that served as the inspiration for cult backpacker novel and movie The Beach, said no crash marks had been found on the bottom of the boat.

The vessel's life vests were still in place and did not appear to have been handed out, he told Mr Bhokin.

"Frogmen also found that the drainage tube fell off from the boat, which might have been another cause for it to capsize," Mr Vichaisan said.

Thailand's tourism industry is still reeling from the December 26 tsunami that killed more than 5300 people, half of them believed to be foreign holidaymakers.

The tsunami struck six south-western provinces on Thailand's Andaman coast.

The boat accident happened off the other coast, which had been unaffected by the killer waves and had seen a surge in bookings as tourists rearranged their holidays.

"The accident will absolutely affect the tourism industry, as we had placed our hopes on the Gulf of Thailand" for a rebound in tourism, deputy interior minister Sutham Sangprathum said.

Mr Sangprathum said he had charged the deputy director general of the ministry's disaster management unit to oversee the rescue operation, but he declined to elaborate on the cause of the accident.

"The accident could have been caused by several factors including weather or overloading the boat. We have to investigate further," he said.

[tuky]

two topics discussing the same event have been merged

/moderator

Edited January 25, 2005 by tukyleith

[Amethyst]

Thats rite ....Thai people belives in Spirits and souls that are lost ni the south now...Not only Thais but i belives most people inthis world belives that..TO bring in tourist back in the south we have to do it slowly....Let it cool down for awhile then we begins bussiness...I belives most of the religious people there in South are doing their very best to set free the lost souls....We should be thinking of thise people who are dead how they are coping with life after death...

If we just go on enjoying life on the beaches after a terrible incident happen that would make the spirits feels sad and lonely...Just think if ur in their places....

My advice is that let it cool down and set those spirits free..Its not their asking to be dead...but its all been written in their life book...

lets us just pray for those that are trapped and gone...

and give sometime so that we could all convice all the locals and foreighner to go back to south again

[sabaijai]

Seven dead as Thai tourist boat sinks

An overcrowded boat carrying revellers from a mass beach party capsized early today in the Gulf of Thailand, killing at least seven people, including four Western tourists, officials said. Nine others were injured.

The speed boat was travelling from Pha-Ngan Island, which attracts thousands of young foreigners to monthly full moon parties, to the larger resort island of Samui.

About 30 of the approximately 40 people on the boat were rescued, said police Lt Col Somphong Krutsuwan.

The dead were three Thais and four Westerners, including one body that was recovered from inside the capsized boat, Somphong said. Their nationalities were not immediately known but a business card found on one of the bodies indicated he could be American, a hospital official said.

Somphong said about four people were missing, including the skipper of the boat, Samran Rungruen, who may have fled the scene.

Somphong said the vessel was designed to carry about 25 passengers, but according to survivors was travelling with at least 40, most of them drunk. He said the boat capsized about 5km from Samui's pier.

An earlier report by police said the accident occurred at about 5am (0900 AEDT).

Hospital officials on Samui said nine people had been admitted for treatment with minor injuries, including four Estonians and one American.

The Lonely Planet guide book to Thailand describes the monthly event at Pha-Ngan, as "the biggest beach party in the world", sometimes attracting more than 12,000 revellers who dance, drink, have sex and take drugs on one of the island's beaches.

Samui, one of Thailand's top tourist destinations, was not affected by the December 26 tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in the country, most of them on the island of Phuket.

Many tourists have cancelled stays on Phuket since last month's disaster and moved to Samui, 460km south of Bangkok, and surrounding islands in the Gulf of Thailand.

- AP

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/01/...l?oneclick=true

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Ko Samui/Ko Phan Ghan needs tourists more than ever. So please go by way of support.

The beaches are pristine and there's hardly any tourists.

ps For 'repost' purposes after the next incident, please cut and paste the name of the next stricken resort over 'Ko Samui/Ko Phan Ghan" - for as we all now know, there are bugger all warning systems or marine safety standards in this country, so its just a matter of WHEN the next mishap occurs.

[george]

7 dead as Thai tourist boat sinks

BANGKOK: -- Only four weeks after parts of Thailand's Andaman coast were battered by devastating tsunamis, a boat has capsized, dealing another blow to the country's tourist industry.

News agencies on Tuesday reported that seven people were killed in the boating accident, including four Western tourists, after the vessel they were traveling in capsized between the holiday islands of Koh Samui and Pha-Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand.

Almost 20 people remain missing in the accident, which authorities believe was caused by an overloading of the speed boat.

Reuters reports the deceased were all in their 20s, with three of the foreigners being male.

As yet, there is no information on the nationalities of the victims.

The boat, which was carrying about 40 people, was ferrying tourists back to Koh Samui after a full moon party on Pha-Ngan, an island popular with young backpackers for its dance festivals and cheap lodgings.

The Associated Press reported the accident as occurring about five kilometers (three miles) from Koh Samui, at about 5 a.m. (2200 GMT).

AP said nine people had been admitted for treatment in a hospital on Koh Samui.

Many tourists have chosen the Gulf as an alternative Thai holiday destination after the devastating December 26 tsunamis hit the Andaman side of Thailand's north-south running peninsula.

The accident is more worrying news for Thailand, which relies heavily on the tourism dollar for economic stability.

--CNN 2005-01-25

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Thaksin isn't going to be able to issue one of his characteristic 'guarantees' here. As he only issues guarantees after the first cock up. This is the second maritime fiasco in a month.

What I expect he will do is 'Plan B', (like he tastelessly did during SARS 2003) which is to offer a cash prize out of his own pocket for the families of tourists killed in future marine mishaps*

*Conditions apply, this offer is not applicable to tsunamis or capsizing boats.

[ProfessorFart]

Overloaded boats and ferries going down isn't a new thing. I just wonder how many bodies its goinng to take befoe they stop overloading them to dangerous levels.

[gburns57au]

Thats rite ....Thai people belives in Spirits and souls that are lost ni the south now...Not only Thais but i belives most people inthis world belives that..TO bring in tourist back in the south we have to do it slowly....Let it cool down for awhile then we begins bussiness...I belives most of the religious people there in South are doing their very best to set free the lost souls....We should be thinking of thise people who are dead how they are coping with life after death...

If we just go on enjoying life on the beaches after a terrible incident happen that would make the spirits feels sad and lonely...Just think if ur in their places....

My advice is that let it cool down and set those spirits free..Its not their asking to be dead...but its all been written in their life book...

lets us just pray for those that are trapped and gone...

and give sometime so that we could all convice all the locals and foreighner to go back to south again

The beaches where people were lost have been cleansed and blessed by the monks and the areas are now declared spirit free.

Edited January 25, 2005 by gburns57au

[taxexile]

I just wonder how many bodies its goinng to take befoe they stop overloading them to dangerous levels.

probably a lot more.

you would think that the owners of the boats have made enough money over the past few years and that by now they would have upgraded their boats , safety equipment and boatmen, and would have a properly implemented and regulated safety policy in place.

not in thailand though , and definately not on samui where even the already wealthy exhibit unbelievable degrees of greed and avarice and the only standards adhered to are the standards of vested interest.

todays drownings are especially upsetting because (if the reports of an overloaded speedboat with standing passengers and unused lifejackets are true ) these holidaymakers should not have died and had the owners of the boat put safety before profit they would probably still be alive.

in spite of the all thaksins bluster on the world stage thailand remains very firmly anchored in a third world miasma of total lack of responsibility , kickbacks, non-enforcement of basic safety regulations and almost unimagineable greed.

Edited January 25, 2005 by taxexile

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

...but people didn't drown on the beaches, they drowned in the sea, a traditionally aquatic environment.

My wife is concerned about marine ghosts actually in the sea itself- eg like the pirates in 'The Fog'.

[VanZam]

Being that a tidle wave "washed over" the land and many people did die "on" the beaches, id tell your wife not to worry, or better yet, go to an unaffected part of thailand just to be safe from the ghosts sprits etc.

Btw, I'm sure the monks blessed the water as well.

I'm all for the beliefs of thais, although somtimes it gets petty.

If your wife can actually "hear" the sprits in her head, then id say shes got a bit more to worry about than going to the beach.

[mr_lob]

Just to advice everyone not to go to any beaches in South Thailand for about 6 month or more..Becaus ethere are still alot of Lost spirits and souls out there...Just read the local thai newspapers theres alot of stories about some1 seeing sprit at night

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

oh you really are a great use are'nt you? come down here to krabi and say that in front of my thai and farang friends who own businesses who are more than ever relying on the tourists to survive...you would'nt last long. keep those sort of ridiculous, thoughtless comments to yourself.

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

She's also concerned about Mermaids. I don't know how these come into the equation, but she wouldn't let me swim in the Andaman after dark last week.

Perhaps they would lure me in with their sweet siren song.

I always assumed that mermaids were topless lovelies, the like of which I don't see in Soi Cowboy anymore, but apparently they are gross wormy things too, akin to normal ghosts.

[taxexile]

itv news has just reported that most passengers had had a lot to drink and that the lifejacket cupboard was locked.

a mechanical / hydraulic fault in the steering mechanism is being cited as the cause of the boat capsizing.

lots of full moon party film footage of drunken falangs dancing , falling over , smoking big cigarettes , groping each other whilst the news was given.

they promise a special report on drug abuse at full moon parties tomorrow.

responsibility for this tragedy..........oh dont be silly !

Edited January 25, 2005 by taxexile

[Maejo Man]

I just wonder how many bodies its goinng to take befoe they stop overloading them to dangerous levels.

in spite of the all thaksins bluster on the world stage thailand remains very firmly anchored in a third world miasma of total lack of responsibility , kickbacks, non-enforcement of basic safety regulations and almost unimagineable greed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

An incredibly accurate apraisal Tax...Here Here!!

[pyros]

Everybody who knows FMP knows that it is a dangerous place . A whole lot of people there are in a massive amount of alcohol ( ok ) and drugs ( and not ganja ) . When people want to go back they all gather around the boats hoping for a fast ticket back and they pay extra to take them . That is the way it works , nobody really cares about safety ( is there anywhere in Thailand ) . Off course this is bad , especially with the focus now on the SE Asia region , especially Thailand . Also now on the news , bird flu which is getting attention , this is going to scare of tourists for sure . This accident was not a real surprise for me but the fact that it's in the news everywhere is .

PS : does anyone have a link with images because with the images i've seen here ( Belgium ) , i see people i know quite well getting of the rescue boats . I want to see if some of the other people on the boat are even more familiar to me .

[joinme2leave]

as cruel as this may sound: this was just a minor accident and long expected to happen. wait until the real big desaster comes into (impatiently waiting) international media (overloaded, unsecured, overspeeding boat transfer anywhere around those islands is a fact, except Lomphraya Services maybe). As a sad matter of fact, I am rapidly running out of arguments to tell my mates: come and enjoy your vacation here...

[taxexile]

BANGKOK, Jan 25 (TNA) - This morning's ferry disaster in which seven people died was attributable to the captain having consumed excessive quantities of alcohol, Deputy Interior Minister Sutham Saengpratoom said today.

Dismissing initial reports that the tourist speedboat was overloaded, Mr. Sutham said that the mostly likely cause of the accident was drunkenness on the part of the captain.

"The Surat Thani provincial governor and the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation have not found evidence that the boat was overloaded, but have found that it crashed into rocks", he said.

The speedboat, carrying around 40 passengers, capsized in the early hours of this morning between Thailand's southern Pha-ngan and  Samui Islands in Surat Thani Province. 

Most of those on board were foreigners returning from Koh Phang-ngan's Full Moon party. 

Although many of the passengers have been safely rescued, eight are still missing.

Mr. Sutham said that the captain was also to be blamed for failing to ensure that the passengers were wearing life vests before the boat left the shore, despite legislation requiring him to do so.

"We will take legal action against the company, which will be fined and have its license revoked", Mr. Sutham said, while admitting that safety legislation was often poorly enforced.

During this morning's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered tighter controls on the issuing of licenses to public boat and coach companies. (TNA)--E006

and

Vijit Vichaisan, the governor of Surat Thani, said no crash marks had been found on the bottom of the boat.

The vessel's life vests were still in place and did not appear to have been handed out, he told Mr Bhokin.

"Frogmen also found that the drainage tube fell off from the boat, which might have been another cause for it to capsize," Mr Vichaisan said.

but

"The Surat Thani provincial governor and the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation have not found evidence that the boat was overloaded, but have found that it crashed into rocks", he said.

??????????

[kat]

I just wonder how many bodies its goinng to take befoe they stop overloading them to dangerous levels.

probably a lot more.

you would think that the owners of the boats have made enough money over the past few years and that by now they would have upgraded their boats , safety equipment and boatmen, and would have a properly implemented and regulated safety policy in place.

not in thailand though , and definately not on samui where even the already wealthy exhibit unbelievable degrees of greed and avarice and the only standards adhered to are the standards of vested interest.

todays drownings are especially upsetting because (if the reports of an overloaded speedboat with standing passengers and unused lifejackets are true ) these holidaymakers should not have died and had the owners of the boat put safety before profit they would probably still be alive.

in spite of the all thaksins bluster on the world stage thailand remains very firmly anchored in a third world miasma of total lack of responsibility , kickbacks, non-enforcement of basic safety regulations and almost unimagineable greed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agree thoroughly with the above comments.

The fundamentals are never going to change here. If you doubt this, read Thai history.

If it is not one thing, it's always another around here. Just wait until the next tourist mutilation by jet ski or propeller boat.

itv news has just reported that most passengers had had a lot to drink and that the lifejacket cupboard was locked.

a mechanical / hydraulic  fault in the steering mechanism is being cited as the cause of the boat capsizing.

lots of full moon party film footage of drunken falangs dancing , falling over , smoking big cigarettes , groping each other whilst the news was given.

they promise a special report on drug abuse at full moon parties tomorrow.

responsibility for this tragedy..........oh dont be silly !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly - that is why nothing ever changes - no growth or development of any sort, unless you consider expressways, shopping malls, and prostitution development.