British Boy Drowned Under Whirlpool In Pattaya Water Park

[toptuan]

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.

I tried making exactly the same point in a thread about Siam Park City a month ago (here), but was accused of "scaremongering."

Unfortunately, BOTH Thais and foreigners prefer to close their eyes to obvious problems/danger, and then lament later when it's too late. Proverbial ostrich's head in the sand.

[harsh4]

At several points around the pool there are water pumps which make the water circulate, these are fed through heavy looking metal grilles in the floor of the pool.(around a meter square} Water is sucked in through these grills by pumps on the side of the pool and is expelled again at force through angled pipes in the wall of the pool providing the circulating effect. I wonder if one of the grills in the floor of the pool has been removed for maintenance or some such thing and not properly replaced. With no grill it would be easy for someone to be sucked in to the duct there and it would be almost impossible to get out.

this scenario sounds right...what a horrible way to go...being sucked into a pipe while having a good time swimming in a water park ! Not replacing the 'manhole cover' after maintenance and allowing people back in amounts to criminal negligence...who was on duty and who authorized reopening the pool after going through the checklist if all was clear ? The water park logs should be able to tell us that...

truly unfortunate and my heart goes out to the family members in question...are they going to sue pattaya park ? Surely nothing can bring back the boy's life but the park management needs a jolt in the arm so that no future accidents are allowed to happen...

Very sad...RIP

[Briggsy]

Unfortunately this kind of easily preventable fatal accident is very common in Thailand. Just look at the child mortality statistics from accidents. They are 20 times higher than Sweden. Admittedly many of these deaths are from motorbikes.

However, it highlights an almost complete disregard for health and safety in Thai culture.

I hope the family can come to terms with their loss.

[leebeeUK]

Lack of law enforcement regarding safety in all Thai parks (water and rides) will sadly always lead to such incidents here. You take your life in your own hands. Unfortunately, the kids won't even think about it if you let them just dive in, as it were. Such places best left well alone?

[blakegeee]

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

nobody said "under water"

They did say that he was found in the engine room, the mother said something like, "I don't know how he got in to the engine room". And since he drowned, you might assume that it was underwater. I agree that the story does not make sense though, engine rooms are not usually underwater.

In any case, it is very sad that this should happen to a 14 year old boy. Unfortunately, its also typical with the poor safety standards here, and the corruption that goes on.

[colte]

Whether this tragedy was caused by accident, misadventure or manslaughter will probably be arbitrarily decided in due course.

The most tragic part is that it was most certainly avoidable. As other posters have mentioned, accidents in other parks around the world have resulted in modifications to equipment. The question is - are the lessons learned in one country available globally to other operators of similar equipment? Probably the only link is the equipment manufacturers. Did the operator of this park even know that modified covers to replace gratings were available?

IF there was more of a safety culture the investigation would not stop when someone (or more likely - something) to blame was found, but would continue to find the root cause and recommend (or preferably, demand through regulation) that appropriate measures were taken to mitigate the risk of recurrence. Also ensuring that investigation findings were made available to all operators and manufacturers of similar equipment on a global basis.

A water park will never be 100% safe as long as humans cannot breathe under water, but investment in a proper safety management system is crucial to manage risk. It is an investment as it involves making risk assessments, developing standard operating procedures, maintenance procedures, training and monitoring staff, etc.

Probably would only happen if it was legislated by the government that all pubic venues over a designated capacity required an externally audited Safety Management System. I am realistic enough to realise that the death of one boy in a water park coming 7 months after a devastating night club fire will not trigger such legislation.

Rant over. Back to reality...

Edited July 11, 2009 by colte

[Junglejumbo]

It really is very sad to hear of a young person dying. Full of life one minute and gone the next, years of love, joy and concern.

Unless the boy broke his way into the engine room which is unlikely I would have thought, then someone is to blame for negligence. In the UK there are laws surrounding parks and other hospitality businesses where certain doors must be kept locked and marked with danger notices, like a skull and cross bones. I don't know if there's anything relevant like this over here. I was complaining in my condo the other week that the management company always kept the door unlocked to the room at the side of the pool storing the caustic soda and chlorine.

I am not sure but perhaps Thai children are brought up to be less inquisitive as I don't hear of too many accidents. However, maybe that's because Thai kids hand around their parents a lot more. It's not unusual for a father to be holding the hand or have his arm around a 15 or 16 yr old son or nephew when out for the day.

Thailand is generally a more hazardous place because it's a poorer country. That's pretty obvious on a first visit here before we get used to it. This family were perhaps too used to it.

Edited July 11, 2009 by Junglejumbo

[Scully]

I dont know if I am allowed to post a link so i will just let you know that another report of the accident is in the Pattaya Daily News. It is just a little more informative than the Nation report.

[Basil B]

A terrible tragedy.

There are many questions to be answered including:

• Why the lifeguard flailed to respond immediately?
  
• Did the boy lift the cover or somebody else?
  
• Why it did not have security fixings?
  
• Do the owners and management do regular risk assessment or even done one?
  

[Jingthing]

The boy can't be brought back to life, but any staff who didn't respond to the request to investigate should be FIRED immediately. Don't you agree?

[cdnvic]

The boy can't be brought back to life, but any staff who didn't respond to the request to investigate should be FIRED immediately. Don't you agree?

Absolutely. It's one thing to miss a drowning victim in your pool, it's totally negligent to ignore the report of one.

[ged]

Very sad , RIP.

My Thai mother in law has just been on the phone and She says The TV news is saying the boy opened the grill and his Sister raised the alarm.

Whatever really happened, it is a sad loss of a young life.

[earthpig]

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.

[Goshawk]

Pattaya Daily News reporting it here

with image grabs from a gut wrenching video clip (that is at the bottom of the page)

very sad..

[SA72724]

He went to my school a few years agoand he moved to Thailand. He was supposed to be coming back here to see everyone on Tuesday. I didn't really know him that well but when people that knew him really well heard, they really were upset.. RIP.

[britmaveric]

Wonder if the lifeguards could swim? Wouldnt surprise me if they couldn't.. anyways pretty sad end for a young lad.

[Thai at Heart]

Once again my condolences.

Incompetent Incompetent Incompetent.

I am sorry, but at the end of the day the owners should be held responsible and taken to the cleaners about this. A grill that can be lifted so easily by a kid in a pool is a PROVEN death trap.

I love this country dearly, but when I see incompetence like this I get so angry. Please prosecute the owners and make a change in the lackadaisical attitude to safety.

Edited July 11, 2009 by Thai at Heart

[DonTron]

Their water park (and their theme park, and their cable car) is NOT up to code. It is badly in need of maintenance.

Everything is rusty and falling apart.

My advice is don’t go there and do NOT take your kids there!!

[misterphil]

Pattaya Daily News reporting it here

with image grabs from a gut wrenching video clip (that is at the bottom of the page)

very sad..

Just watched the video clip on Pattaya Daily News and my wife translated what the lady was saying.

"She says that she tells the life guards, the security and the Manager that her son has gone under the grate in the pool and he is missing. She asks if they can look for him and they tell her that its not possible for him to go under the grate and refuse to start a search for him"

[sassienie]

When I was 13 years old, a friend gave me an old lorry tire inner tube.

My family and I lived at Westcliff on sea, Essex in England, a coastal town on the Thames Estuary.

On one hot summer day, I took the inner tube with me down to the beach. Never learned how to swim, so I climbed into the inner tube with it being around my chest and began swimming out to sea. After about half an hour I could only see the coast as a thin line right out over the horizon, I must have been 2 miles or more out to sea. I could see the Isle of Sheppey on the Kent coast in which the current was taking me.

Being only 13 at the time I was thoroughly enjoying myself and did not fear any danger.

Began swimming with my life supporting inner tube back to where I started out on the Essex coast. When I arrived two thirds of the way, the tide had gone out, so had to walk back to the coast over the mud.

These days reflecting back on what I had done, it sends shivers through me just thinking about it. If that inner tube had leaked air or burst, I would have been a goner for sure.

I took lots of risks when I was a kid, never considered the dangers because everything was one big adventure.

Suppose it’s all the luck of the draw.

Edited July 11, 2009 by sassienie

[sarkozy]

At several points around the pool there are water pumps which make the water circulate, these are fed through heavy looking metal grilles in the floor of the pool.(around a meter square} Water is sucked in through these grills by pumps on the side of the pool and is expelled again at force through angled pipes in the wall of the pool providing the circulating effect. I wonder if one of the grills in the floor of the pool has been removed for maintenance or some such thing and not properly replaced. With no grill it would be easy for someone to be sucked in to the duct there and it would be almost impossible to get out.

Explanation of the accident by a Thai newspaper today "the young boy may have removed the metal grille". My two kids aged 10 who have been to Pattaya Park a few times said about this comment "Daddy it is impossible, it's too heavy especially when you are under water".

[KASABIAN]

Their water park (and their theme park, and their cable car) is NOT up to code. It is badly in need of maintenance.

Everything is rusty and falling apart.

My advice is don't go there and do NOT take your kids there!!

Absolutely agree. Sadly nothing will happen until it breaks and eventually it will. If you have been to the top of Pattaya Tower and seen what supports the cable car and especially the one where you hang there dangling from an old shabby harness with rusty old bolts holding the cable wheel in place its horrifying.

Even the wall is an inadequate height with absolutely nothing stopping anyone leaning over to far and falling over the edge. How someone has not died there yet is a complete wonder, it will sadly eventually happen.

RIP Young man, I hope your at peace where ever you are now.

[LennyW]

Update from Pattaya One News

Latest Report from Pattaya Park following the death of 14 year old English Boy.

On Friday, Police and rescue services were called to Pattaya Park located in Jomtien to deal with an incident which occurred, resulting in the death of a 14 year English boy. Police were directed to a pool at the Water Park which features a whirlpool. The body of the 14 year old boy, later named as Nathan Clark, was discovered by lifeguards inside the engine room which powers the whirlpool. The boy had sustained injuries suggesting he had become trapped within the mechanics of the whirlpool. It was estimated the boy had been dead for at least 1 hour prior to the discovery of his body.

The victim’s distraught step-mother, Khun Jintana aged 30, who had cared for Nathan since he was 5 years old explained that Nathan had disappeared while swimming in the 1 meter deep pool. At the time Nathan was with his older Brother, Reece Clark aged 15, according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Anuchart who is the officer assigned to the case. This information concerning the older brother was uncovered some time after the incident occurred, and we understand that Reece helped his younger brother to lift off the grill. Khun Jintana realized the metal grill which protects swimmers from entering the engine compartment was open. She summoned the assistance of a lifeguard working at the Park; Khun Dumrongsak aged 40 who would not believe that the grill had been opened and in 10 years of service he had never heard of such a problem before. When he eventually agreed to help, the body was found in the engine room under the water.

On Saturday Morning, Forensic Police from Region 2 were called in to examine the scene and determine what had happened. Initial Police reports suggested the boy may have pulled open the grill, which was not secured with a lock, and had then swam into the engine compartment. Using a man of similar height and weight to the victim, a re-enactment was conducted under the watchful eyes of forensic police. The grill which weighs 21kg was checked to see if a single person would be able to lift it and it was found that it could have been easily lifted off by the boy. Tests were also conducted with the engine turned on to see if the boy could have been sucked in through a pipe leading to the engine compartment which measures 40 square centimeters. It was determined by Police that this could not have happened. A corroded pipe inside the engine room was identified as an object which may have killed the boy as he entered the engine room; however this could not be confirmed.

The British Embassy in Bangkok are aware of the case and are offering what assistance they can to the family of the deceased boy including his father who works for an Indian Engineering Company and had intended to take his son to India to continue his education. Khun Surapon, Director of Pattaya Park explained in an interview conducted on Saturday that compensation has already been offered to the family of the boy by the Park who appear to be accepting responsibility for the accident, although there are some unanswered questions regarding the incident.

Definately still some answers needed.

[Imkah]

Yes ..... Just an unfortunate accident with nobody to blame! So all of you people that just want to read something into this at this poignant time for his grieving family,

That's not quite how things work in real life, my imbecile friend: Run a business and take the consequences if an accident happens and you have not done "due diligence". Somebody is obviously responsible for this tragic event, and I am sure you're disrespectful addition to this thread is not appreciated by the boys family and friends. 100% safety in life can never be guaranteed as death proves every single day, but if we do not react to untimely deaths such as this and charge the ultimate responsible - in this case the owners of the place - the result will be again and again: "loose a f.... life".

My heart goes out to the family.

[Imkah]

No way should the blame rest on others than management! Stop harassing the parents!

I truly hope the parents are not reading this thread and the number of posts obviously adding grief to their loss. Who are you all? Elderly men, methinks, didn't quite make it on your home turf, and here's a forum where you can vent all your suppressed aggressions? Or just well-intentioned middle-aged men with no thought for the consequences of what you write?

I have had the unfortunate experience of loosing a child, and I can name a lot of people on this forum I would not ever want to shake hands or share a beer with.

May the boy have peace.

[SNGLIFE]

No way should the blame rest on others than management! Stop harassing the parents!

It is a POOL, not a daycare center. Parents should be the adults and should be 100% responsible for the whereabouts and safety of their children AT ALL TIMES! Any parent who thinks they can pay an admission and thereby relinquish their parental responsibilities or transfer those responsibilities to a teenage lifeguard is a FOOL at best. Own up people!

As I stated previously, every pool should have (and I am sure this one is no exception) a notice(s) posted that they are NOT responsible for your child's safety. Even in the absence of a notice, why any parent would think otherwise is why things like this can happen. Any parent who cannot own up to their responsibility for the welfare of their child does not need to be a parent.

**defamatory comments removed--sbk**

Edited July 11, 2009 by sbk

[joskydive]

Mrs Jintana continued to say that Nathan had been swimming at the whirl pool which was 1 metre deep. She later realised that Nathan was missing, so she went to the pool in search of him and found that the pipe cover (1.20 x 1.20 metre) was open. Mrs. Jintana then rushed to inform the life guard, who was responsible for the safety of the swimmers. She went on to say that the staff did not believe her and implied she had made up the story, because it was impossible for an accident like this to happen.

The staff all carried out a search for Nathan for approximately 1 hour until they opened the pump cover to find his body floating in the water.

The lifeguard, Mr. Dumrongsak Songmarerng (40), told police that when Mrs Jintana informed them of Nathan's disappearance, the pump cover in the pool where Nathan had been swimming was closed as normal. He went on to say the water park has been open for more than 10 years and has never had an accident of this nature. He said the victim might have been curious and lifted the pump lid causing the water to gush through and pulling him in.

This is from the Pattaya Daily News.

I was wondering when someone would try and blame the boy!!! Also, somewhere I read that he was with his brother aged 15 at time, however, nothing has been said about the whereabouts of his older brother now, or his version of what happened.

Whatever did happen to this young lad, it's sad and the only thing his stepmother did was to try and give him a nice day out where they could all relax and enjoy themselves. I don't believe any parent would knowingly take a child in their care to a place that they thought would endanger his/her life.

I believe the management are wholly responsible here because they are the one's who decide when and what maintenance is done and also who they employ whether that is maintenance staff or lifeguards, qualified or not. I also saw somewhere that they have already offered money in compensation for his life. I wonder how much they have valued that at!!!!

Edited July 11, 2009 by joskydive

[cyborg22]

Mrs Jintana continued to say that Nathan had been swimming at the whirl pool which was 1 metre deep. She later realised that Nathan was missing, so she went to the pool in search of him and found that the pipe cover (1.20 x 1.20 metre) was open. Mrs. Jintana then rushed to inform the life guard, who was responsible for the safety of the swimmers. She went on to say that the staff did not believe her and implied she had made up the story, because it was impossible for an accident like this to happen.

The staff all carried out a search for Nathan for approximately 1 hour until they opened the pump cover to find his body floating in the water.

The lifeguard, Mr. Dumrongsak Songmarerng (40), told police that when Mrs Jintana informed them of Nathan's disappearance, the pump cover in the pool where Nathan had been swimming was closed as normal. He went on to say the water park has been open for more than 10 years and has never had an accident of this nature. He said the victim might have been curious and lifted the pump lid causing the water to gush through and pulling him in.

This is from the Pattaya Daily News.

I was wondering when someone would try and blame to boy!!! Also, somewhere I read that he was with his brother aged 15 at time, however, nothing has been said about the whereabouts of his older brother now, or his version of what happened.

Whatever did happen to this young lad, it's sad and the only thing his stepmother did was to try and give him a nice day out where they could all relax and enjoy themselves. I don't believe any parent would knowingly take a child in their care to a place that they thought would endanger his/her life.

I believe the management are wholly responsible here because they are the one's who decide when and what maintenance is done and also who they employ whether that is maintenance staff or lifeguards. I also saw somewhere that they have already offered money in compensation for his life. I wonder how much they have valued that at!!!!

Lift the pump lid causing the water to rush in?

What a load of rubbish, The pump lid is not actually a lid but a metal grill which allows the water to flow into it. excuses excuses by the so called lifeguard trying to save his neck.

Also if it was a lid with that amount of water above it he would have had to be super human to lift it on his own.

Edited July 11, 2009 by cyborg22

[SNGLIFE]

I can name a lot of people on this forum I would not ever want to shake hands or share a beer with.

I can say that any child left in MY care has a great SAFE time and will be there when the parents come back. No parent should ever leave their child with anyone who is less than overly paranoid about safety. If that makes me a responsible, safe _ssh_le in your book, then I hope I make the cover page.

[SNGLIFE]

She later realised that Nathan was missing...

That shows she was not watching him. It would take a considerable amount of time for a 14 yo to loiter around the grate, decide to open it, attempt to open it, go get help to open it, then open it. Come on! That had to be a fair amount of time to be unsupervised by the step-mother.

I believe the management are wholly responsible here because they are the one's who decide when and what maintenance is done and also who they employ whether that is maintenance staff or lifeguards, qualified or not. I also saw somewhere that they have already offered money in compensation for his life. I wonder how much they have valued that at!!!!

While they do share the responsibility in that the grate should have been sealed effectively, the step-mother is the guardian and was negligent in the supervision of the boy. The ultimate responsibility for the boy's safety is hers alone.