British Boy Drowned Under Whirlpool In Pattaya Water Park

[lioness]

My condolences to the family, a very sad loss of life, my thoughts are with you.

[torrenova]

A very sad case indeed. Perhaps too early to find a definitive answer but speculation seems to focus on a lack of attention to detail. This is a trait of the lazy with a "mai pen rai" attitude and as so often happens, someone pays the price. Whoever was responsible, it wasn't their business but even if it was, they'd have been just as slipshod.

Close the place and go after the owners. Unlikely I know.

[Jing Joe]

[

As lounger said, a youg girl got her hair caught in the suction outlet.

This may be the same one as happened down under in Oz.

Given the predominance of long hair in Asian girls/ladies, this may be a greater probability for everyone to be aware of no matter where in the world.

The thought of it happening sends shivers down the spine and there would be a considerable design challenge and modification costs to overcome the inherent danger.

There was another case of a guy who sat on the suction outlet in Oz and it removed part of his lower bowel.

Sorry for the family of Naytin.

Edited July 10, 2009 by Jing Joe

[thaimlord]

Nothing that is done from this point will return the boy his life

No, but if there is a problem then ignoring it could mean another kid dies.

1. We cannot solve a problem by speculation without knowing all the details.

2. We will never know all the details.

3. Even if we were to know all the details, we could not change the Pattaya Park owner(s)' minds about what they choose to do about it.

ThaiMLord

[ding]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

Yeah, until it's YOUR dead child and it was YOU they didn't have the common coutesy to take seriously.

This takes all the piss. A kid is dead and a family in ruin because a "lifeguard" was arrogant, or lazy, or incompetent. Being a nutless wonder and refusing to assign responsibility is EXACTLY what does not help. It just enables this crap to happen again and again.

<deleted> Jayziz!

Edited July 10, 2009 by ding

[cdnvic]

1. We cannot solve a problem by speculation without knowing all the details.

2. We will never know all the details.

3. Even if we were to know all the details, we could not change the Pattaya Park owner(s)' minds about what they choose to do about it.

That was a quick surrender Monsieur.

[thaimlord]

1. We cannot solve a problem by speculation without knowing all the details.

2. We will never know all the details.

3. Even if we were to know all the details, we could not change the Pattaya Park owner(s)' minds about what they choose to do about it.

That was a quick surrender Monsieur.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be as blunt as that sounded.

Pardonnez moi.

ThaiMLord

[benton]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

Because blames and calls of incompetence may save another childs life.I would want someone held responsible,as i am sure would you,if it was someone you loved.

Of course any sudden death is a tragic death..it will be investigated thoroughly do not fear by Forensic Science Khunying Pornthip and the Thai Judicial system ala Coroners will refer any matters to be investigated for criminal charges to be laid to their Public Prosecution Dept..so now as in our Western countries, we have to just wait for the process to get moving..no point in slinging off about 'monkeys' etc you just do not know all the facts and am relying on a newspaper report for goodness sakes !

[cogalar]

Very sad.

[lemel]

"Lifeguards" what an oxymoron.

RIP.

being some one who has only made about 4 posts but have read many i noticed that mebers who have posted hundreds of posting are total garbage so many mke there quota up by everyone who has died or bad luck make comments I.E sorry r.i.p

whats that all about millions die everyday and nobbody cares but on here its like a ritual to say condolences r i p

and get more post pionts sorry to sound rude but find it so whatever lets say rip to everyone who died including jacko i made my piont posted now 6 in 3 years and basicly the engine rome made in a whirlpool is like a wave machine makes waves in a swimming pool

You sound like a cretin what is the point of your post? posting whilst pissed just makes you look stupid.

agreed, some posts are understandable and others away out there!!!!

[cyborg22]

"Lifeguards" what an oxymoron.

RIP.

being some one who has only made about 4 posts but have read many i noticed that mebers who have posted hundreds of posting are total garbage so many mke there quota up by everyone who has died or bad luck make comments I.E sorry r.i.p

whats that all about millions die everyday and nobbody cares but on here its like a ritual to say condolences r i p

and get more post pionts sorry to sound rude but find it so whatever lets say rip to everyone who died including jacko i made my piont posted now 6 in 3 years and basicly the engine rome made in a whirlpool is like a wave machine makes waves in a swimming pool

You sound like a cretin what is the point of your post? posting whilst pissed just makes you look stupid.

Agree

But I could have put that a lot stronger, Then again i'm trying to keep out of trouble

Condolences to the family involved such a sad waste of a young life.

Edited July 11, 2009 by cyborg22

[Thai at Heart]

What a tragedy, and my condolences.

People calling here for better safety, I can whole heartedly agree. Unfortunately, they could import every "elf and safety" worker from a western country and it would take 200 years of inspections just to rectify all the enormous existing problems before they could start on inspecting recently built facilities.

Creating a culture a culture of risk assessment and minimisation first needs people to believe that they can actively change the daily fate of others.

[john b good]

Devastating for the family.Incredible incompetence of the lifeguards to take one hour to search the whirlpool engine room considering the cover was missing.

"incredible incompetence of the lifeguards"

It might be incredible however you would be foolish (or naive) to expect anything better here in the realm.

Just another unnecessary and totally avoidable death. Will the proprietors of the park be prosecuted. Not on your nellie.

My condolences to his folks.

[Jimjim]

Thailand's water parks have a history of poor safety.

Last year there were 4 fatalities at Suan Siam (Siam Park City) when the water ride broke. There was another accident on the log ride not long after that, fortunately no-one was killed.

Poor memory you have there. One lady was killed on the log ride, and as far as I remember several kids went to the hospital when they fell off a water slide that had cracked apart but none of them died. Maybe one. I think the log ride accident actually happened first as well.

[edgarfriendly]

What a tragedy, and my condolences.

People calling here for better safety, I can whole heartedly agree. Unfortunately, they could import every "elf and safety" worker from a western country and it would take 200 years of inspections just to rectify all the enormous existing problems before they could start on inspecting recently built facilities.

Creating a culture a culture of risk assessment and minimisation first needs people to believe that they can actively change the daily fate of others.

Well said!!

it was an accident!! DONT THINK DONT THINK

the child is to blame! NO THINK NO THINK

if he hadnt have been there, it couldnt have happened!! NOTHINK NOTHINK

it disgusts me, and it matters not the location.

the legal guardian of the boy said she informed the guards of the open grille but was ignored for an hour.

im so so so sad for the family, its devastating, the feeling of utter loss and lack of consideration.

pay peanuts n get monkeys? i disagree with ur tone, but pay poorly educated staff a poor wage and we can almost be certain of a poor performance.a poor attitude towards 'work' and 'customers'

CONDOLENCES!!

ef

[chiangmaibruce]

We were at the park just a few weeks back. The family wanted to get a pass and do several rides and then go to the pool. We ended up just doing the monorail and then going to the beach, in part because at least one of the rides were 'out of order'. The monorail creaked along very slowly which is just as well as it felt unstable. Just our cursory walk-around certainly gave one the impression of lack of maintenance and low levels of staffing (and business-wise - wasted potential).

It's a family entertainment environment where the management have a duty of care to minimise the scope for injury - at Pattaya Park that's just not happening and mishaps are therefore and unfortunately inevitable. It needn't be that way and it shouldn't be that way. I am not talking about Disneyland levels of service, but just a careful eye to design, a structured and systematic maintenance schedule, and decent staff training.

[RKASA]

I just recently found out that in the US you can't even have grating anymore. There are special fittings now a days that prevent potential damage from the suction. It reads like an urban myth, but "people" have had their intestines sucked out their a** because of the old design, and a bit of luck (bad luck). As well as disembowelment, just being stuck, literally trapped from the suction of the old design and drowning took it's share of innocence. It happened enough that a few people with government jobs had put their heads together, earn their living, and solve a problem.

Not urban myth at all.  Former Sen. and running mate of John Kerry made more then 20million in law settlements over this vary issue.  In one case along a young girl had her guts ripped open by the suction inlet.  

49 dead in Texas as a result of drowning.  Nation wide I am sure Thailand has as much. Texas is as big as Thailand if not bigger and I don't think they all happen in water parks,  if they did every hotel room in Texas would still be booked by lawyers.

I sure its still safer to swim there then take a bus to get there,  when are the Transports going to be held accountable for their annual mess murders.

[frogz]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

It is a tradgedy and I'm sure that everybodys' thoughts are with the family but I also feel that it is important to find out why accidents like this happen so that they can be prevented in the future. If there is blame and incompetence, then I'm sure the family would also like to know exactly what happened. If there is blame, the people responisble should be held accountable for this sad tradgedy. That is why people are making these calls. Tradgedy, yes, but what caused it and can it be prevented in the future.

[Milo]

Motorcycling is hardly the safest hobby, but then there is your own risk assessment & acceptable levels. You'd never catch me going anywhere near any kind of amusement park and putting my family's lives in the hands of Thai safety standards. A terrible, tragic accident, and my deepest condolances.

[bungy007]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

Totally disagree with the first part and totally agree with your last sentence. If anything can be learned from this tragic loss of a young life then scrutiny must be applied. Indeed, if the legacy of the investigation is to stamp out any possibility of a repeat then we owe to the boy and his family to ensure that the process of security in such venues is 100% Thai proof

[Baht Man]

I don't understand. How can an engine room be underwater?

Did someone say it was underwater??

[chillibilly]

--To me if a water park cannot afford to keep up clean showers and restrooms and the place looks neglected, then they certainly won't spend money on maintenance or proper training for their staff. This is the case for Pattaya Water Park.

The place makes its money from the first time visitor (tourist). We who live here most likely stay away from the place or if we attend a neglected place as such, we watch our kids like an eagle.

I do not blame the "life guards"-they're also just kids...but what about a SAFETY check of the place everytime it opens up in the morning? (Making sure the vent grills/grids; electric wires; and yes, even the bathrooms meet up to standards?) Is being "pro-active" in a Thai company's vocabulary?

[Thaifever]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

Because blames and calls of incompetence may save another childs life.I would want someone held responsible,as i am sure would you,if it was someone you loved.

Edited July 11, 2009 by Thaifever

[Skajd]

i put a curse on those "lifegaurds" and i put a curse on the people who employed them. how can such empty mindless attitudes have pride. disgusting and unacceptably common place.

[dingdongrb]

Motorcycling is hardly the safest hobby, but then there is your own risk assessment & acceptable levels. You'd never catch me going anywhere near any kind of amusement park and putting my family's lives in the hands of Thai safety standards. A terrible, tragic accident, and my deepest condolances.

I couldn't agree with you more and yet how many farangs do we see riding without helmets, or drunk? I almost hit a young farang boy about 14 who was riding a bicycle in the middle of CM-Hangdong road and turned into my lane (I was in a car) without even starting to look. I could probably cite another dozen or so stupid and unsafe things I have seen farangs do when biking or cycling here in CM. It seems that there are morons everywhere in the world and of all ethnics.

As far as safety for our children, my 3 yr old daughter loves the swings and slides but I refuse to let her play on the metal slides in the public areas. I mean, have you ever looked at them. They are rusted and corroded to the point where sharp pieces of metal is protruding. I could only imagine how many stitches or tetanus shots she would need if her flesh is gouged open.

My sincere condolences to this young boy's family. May he RIP.

[Skajd]

I don't understand. How can an engine room be underwater?

Did someone say it was underwater??

a ships engines are underwater, its not the problem. the problem is the pathetically retarded staff who didnt react to an obviously intelligent lady's concerns about her missing boy. they could have saved him ... posibbly ... but you know what? they didnt save him. he died ... "deathgaurds" would be a more suitable title for them.

[bjderb]

Whatever the circumstances this is nothing but an unmitigated deeply sad tragedy. Blame and calls of incompetence add nothing so why bother to make them. The only thing to express here is profound regret that one so young was taken, regardless of how.

Deepest sympathy to the family who will face weeks and months of soul searching and loss.

Because blames and calls of incompetence may save another childs life.I would want someone held responsible,as i am sure would you,if it was someone you loved.

I went to Pattaya Park 2-3 years ago, tough not the water part of the complex. The place was badly run. The advertisement I saw was deceptive (actually I wrote to a couple of Pattaya publications asking them not to publish the ad, but they contine putting ads of the Park). The buffet was a total rip-off. Staffs who operated the cable ride from the top of the tower were unfriendly (probably because they were poorly paid or treated). I was so pissed off that I will never visit the place again. I guess this death case has a lot to do with the Park itself.

The cable car ride is the place where you would expect an accident........Bri.

[threelegcowboy]

Thanks for the warnings and I will be more careful at all entertainment business.

At Pattaya Water Park they have the high tower with cable rides down to the ground. I think I have ridden my last time on that one.

[bjderb]

This is Thailand I know.Western standards of safety (which sometimes seem draconian)do not always apply,BUT for heavens sake Pattaya Park is considered to be a "family" destination and we hear of the tourist board trying to woo "quality tourists",.....well as I said in my earlier post,I and two others who have posted today alone have found to our cost that the water at the end of the water shoot is nowhere deep enough.I personally spent 3 weeks in real pain recovering from the accident I had there.Many people know/knew about this problem.Obviously the staff who worked there knew. Do the Thai authorities and owners of Pattaya Park think that this sort of negligence (at least regarding the waterslide)would not one day come back to haunt them?

surely you would expect an adult to have the common sense,when exiting the slide to have legs raised, & hit the water with your backside !!!........Bri.

[Dakhar]

A tragedy - my heart goes out to the mother and the rest of the family.

Perhaps Nerone's offensive comment, "Bunch of Monkeys", and that of Peecee, "Pay Peanuts and get Monkey's" could be removed.

49 children in the state of Texas have already drowned this year. See:

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/Alarmin...ning_death_rate

Why remove a fact, do you think the folks in Texas were being paid well?