Israeli Electrocuted To Death In Thailand

[churchill]

Ariel Soriano, 22, dies in tragic accident when electric cable falls into swimming pool at party in Koh Phangan resort.

Israeli who pulled young man out of water recounts incident

Daniel Edelson Latest Update: 12.28.09, 11:42 / Israel News

An Israeli, Ariel Soriano, 22, from Netanya died Sunday night while swimming with friends during a party at a resort in Koh Phangan, Thailand. The Foreign Ministry reported that an electric cable fell in the water and killed the young man instantly.

The Israeli embassy in Bangkok is handling the case and the Foreign Ministry is in contact with the man's family in Israel.

Billy, the Israeli who pulled the young man out of the water, told Ynet on Monday, "All of a sudden, a cable fell into the water and the guy was electrocuted in front of everyone."

He recounted the nighttime party at the resort. "At four in the morning, we were swimming in the pool all happy and drunk. Then I got out of the water for a minute to have a cigarette. All of a sudden a cable fell into the water and the guy got electrocuted. I heard screams. I turned around and saw him drowning. I quickly dove into the pool and pulled him out."

"Everyone was crying. His friends were in hysterics. There was absolute mayhem. To see a kid like this whom you were swimming and laughing with a second ago is not so nice," said Billy.

Billy said there was a sign by the pool forbidding swimming at night: "Everyone goes in even though it's written that violators will be fined 2,000 baht (about $60). No one cares. We were all swimming there."

Bangkok Chabad house director Rabbi Wilhelm Nehemiah added that the Israeli consulate contacted him regarding the preparation of the body for burial in Israel. The body will be flown to Israel in the coming days.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3826138,00.html

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[Slaps]

RIP

Sad story, same thing happened to my neighbors little boy a few years ago in

Pattaya

Electricity and water don't mix and should be kept well apart

But then most people know that

[Scott]

My condolences to friends and family. Very sad.

[pampal]

RIP

[Boo]

so sad. The fact of the sign IMO is irrelevant, as, if the cable was not secure then it could have fallen during daytime too.

RIP young man.

[Somtamnication]

Would love to know the name of this so called resort.

[bkkjames]

so sad. The fact of the sign IMO is irrelevant, as, if the cable was not secure then it could have fallen during daytime too.

RIP young man.

Very sad, agree about the cable, imagine it falling with a pool full of people.

[onnut]

That makes disturbing Reading! Rip.

[miguel3x]

Would love to know the name of this so called resort.

It was Friendly Bungalows

http://www.chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=16856

[isaanpaul]

RIP

Sad story, same thing happened to my neighbors little boy a few years ago in

Pattaya

Electricity and water don't mix and should be kept well apart

But then most people know that

Sad story's all over,but what to think about this electric water heater's? they are used all over Thailand.

Me, I never feel save when I use this heater's especialy because I now thai's don't take grounding electric equipment serious!!

This moment I live in a place without a shower heater it is cold but more save!

Take care

[londonthai]

it's a criminal to run cables near the water, let's see who is to blame for this accident.

"we were swimming in the pool all happy and drunk" - another missmatched activities

[featography]

RIP

Sad story, same thing happened to my neighbors little boy a few years ago in

Pattaya

Electricity and water don't mix and should be kept well apart

But then most people know that

." I turned around and saw him drowning. I quickly dove into the pool and pulled him out."

That raises a question or 2.. cable still in the water, why didnt he get electricuted too? Was someone crazy enough to pull the cable out of the water first? Wet swimmers, wet deck, live cable, that should have toasted someone too.

[john b good]

so sad. The fact of the sign IMO is irrelevant, as, if the cable was not secure then it could have fallen during daytime too.

RIP young man.

You're correct.

Was the sign in English or Thai. Even if it was in both there was no guarantee that everyone would either / could read it.

At the end of the day the responsibility rests with the management of the hotel to ensure that they provide safe facilities and in this case they clearly did not.

[ExC5Engineer]

R.I.P. So sad for anyone to lose there life that young!!

[thaibkk]

friends and booze...

drunken

let my guess.. one of his 'friends' just wanted to see what would happen if he trown in an electrical cable

strange how an electrical cable can just fall... as they are not supposed to be anywhere near a pool, day or night...

maybe somebody tossed in a latern or something

[richwantsin]

unlucky chap

but amazing that more of this kind of 'accident' doesn't occur

especially on koh phangnan...the place is a disaster waiting to happen

[DegenFarang]

Surprise, surprise - not reported by The Nation or the Bangkok Post - had to be picked up by a foreign news source.

This country disgusts me sometimes. These kinds of things happen all the time and never get reported on.

So sad. Just 22 years old. Hopefully the family can at least get an apology out of the owner, we know they'll never see any money.

Edited December 29, 2009 by DegenFarang

[LivinLOS]

Sad story..

Of course any chance of anyone being held accountable for negligence is almost zero.. so the same things will continue. In Thailand life is sadly cheap.

[anon467367354]

to even have to mention whether or not people were swimming illegally after hours is despicable. The fact that an electric cable can be run close enough to actually fall into a pool shows gross lack of common sense and the need for standard building codes. It reminds me of the foot bridge right near Soi 4 just up from Central Pinklao, a cable is run right on top the landing at the top of the stairs where I tripped over it the first time, but will probably never be changed, lazy and lack of pride. mai bpen rai. RIP

[DegenFarang]

unlucky chap

but amazing that more of this kind of 'accident' doesn't occur

especially on koh phangnan...the place is a disaster waiting to happen

Kind of thing happens all the time, we just don't hear about it. When I was there last month a young Farang died on the beach and I've never found any reference to it anywhere.

[mrdome]

." I turned around and saw him drowning. I quickly dove into the pool and pulled him out."[/i]

That raises a question or 2.. cable still in the water, why didnt he get electricuted too? Was someone crazy enough to pull the cable out of the water first? Wet swimmers, wet deck, live cable, that should have toasted someone too.

I thought about that as well, the witness must have left out something (turning off of electricity perhaps?).

[Viper]

Very lucky that the power had tripped out or the guy diving into the pool would also have been electrocuted. Think first before acting

[Gippy]

friends and booze...

drunken

let my guess.. one of his 'friends' just wanted to see what would happen if he trown in an electrical cable

strange how an electrical cable can just fall... as they are not supposed to be anywhere near a pool, day or night...

maybe somebody tossed in a latern or something

Without the full story something like this is possible. The story says 'an electric cable', not an main electric cable provided by the power company or the resort. Maybe the party goers run an extension cable out to the pool to power a stereo system and it was knocked in by accident. It's a sad story, RIP to the young man.

[keynote]

Surprise, surprise - not reported by The Nation or the Bangkok Post - had to be picked up by a foreign news source.

This country disgusts me sometimes. These kinds of things happen all the time and never get reported on.

So sad. Just 22 years old. Hopefully the family can at least get an apology out of the owner, we know they'll never see any money.

I agree. The owner would probably argue that the pool's closed and that sad dude swam after closing hours. Now its gonna be a story on pushing the blame. Disgusting.

[grantbkk]

RIP

A stark reminder that we are all on our own and responsible for ourselves here in the jungle.

[mrdome]

And the same can be said about a lot of tourists coming here also. You should never swim when you are drunk! When they behave like idiots, this things will happen. Read and learn!

As the cable could have fallen during daytime and with stone cold sober guests as well - unless we haven't been told that someone (drunk) had done something to make that cable fall, I feel your comment is off the mark.

[bkkjames]

Typical Thai disregard for anything resembling safety. Nobody has any foresight in this country when it comes to public or worker safety.

And the same can be said about a lot of tourists coming here also. You should never swim when you are drunk! When they behave like idiots, this things will happen. Read and learn!

"He was was drunk and didn't see the electric power cord in the pool"?

Nice try.

[drunkmonkey]

Typical Thai disregard for anything resembling safety. Nobody has any foresight in this country when it comes to public or worker safety.

And the same can be said about a lot of tourists coming here also. You should never swim when you are drunk! When they behave like idiots, this things will happen. Read and learn!

i think your right,who says it was a power line to do with the resort? more likely an extension cable being used for an i pod dock, someone tripped on it lead fell into pool, thai fault? not a chance, so many quick to blame thais here, thats so sad

[Svante]

friends and booze...

drunken

let my guess.. one of his 'friends' just wanted to see what would happen if he trown in an electrical cable

strange how an electrical cable can just fall... as they are not supposed to be anywhere near a pool, day or night...

maybe somebody tossed in a latern or something

Fresh water does not really conduct electricity that well, the cleaner the less risk. If it was a saltwater pool, then it is a complete different case. Just a slight ingress of salt will increase the conductivity very fast. To pull out a cable that is wet, is not really that dangerous as the water is broken up on the surface of the cable as it is hauled up and if you are wearing rubber flippers you are safe.

Assuming somebody pulled the plug before pulling the cable. Now a good advice, install a "safety-cut" or similar device that will cut the power if the current in each pole is not equal, meaning a conduction to ground somewhere. This is a very cheap life-insurance that have saved my butt many times!

[ajarndanny]

What a very sad story. Just shows you never know what happens next

R.I.P