Phuket Beach Deaths: Airlines, Airport Could Help Cut The Toll

[webfact]

Phuket beach deaths: Airlines, airport could help cut the toll

PHUKET: - The full onset of this year’s monsoon season has brought with it a sadly predictable rise in the number of drowning deaths, most among foreign tourists who ignored not only the red warning flags, but also, in some cases, verbal warnings from lifeguards about the dangers.

The latest casualty was a Romanian tourist who, like so many before him, entered the surf unaware of the magnitude of the risk. (See front page story, current [July 31] issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.) http://www.phuketgazette.net/digitalgazette3/currentissue.asp

Reporting the never-ending string of drowning deaths is depressing work indeed. Most of the victims are here on holiday, often with family and friends whose Phuket experience turns into a nightmare in a matter of moments.

Equally depressed must be the island’s 17 honorary consuls. Almost all of them have had to personally experience dealing with bereaved families, arranging funeral services or repatriating the remains of people who, in many cases, were in the prime of life when they were dragged out to sea for their holiday death.

But the depression experienced by local journalists and volunteer diplomatic staff pales in comparison to that of the island’s lifeguards, whose frustration boiled over last week with an unprecedented charge against hotel owners on the island for not doing enough to warn their guests of the dangers.

While it is unrealistic to expect to reduce the number of drowning deaths to zero, we need to do our best to come up with new ways to get the message across to tourists about how treacherous surf conditions can be at this time of year.

Red flags, verbal warnings and signs are obviously not enough. Their intended messages are sadly ignored on an island where newcomers’ senses are constantly bombarded with garish commercial signage and rude, in-your-face touting.

That being the case, here are some ideas that might help get the needed message across.

First, and as recommended in this space several times in the past, would be to have the captains of incoming commercial flights to clearly spell out the dangers over their PA systems.

Tourists enjoying a day at the beach might tune out the lifeguards along with trinket vendors and time-share touts, but they are likely to heed the words of an airline pilot while they sit captive at 30,000 feet.

Most, if not all, airlines bound for Thailand warn passengers of the death penalty for drugs. But for the millions of holidaymakers arriving in Phuket, the risk of death by drowning is surely far, far greater.

Second, create a “memorial wall” to tourists whose lives have been needlessly lost. Don’t put it on some beach, but inside the baggage pick-up area at the airport, along with a video presenting the grim statistics and other relevant information. While this might not be the most uplifting of starts to a tourist’s visit, it would certainly help reduce the body count in our annual monsoon harvests of beach death.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-08-01

[animatic]

People drown at surf spots world wide, for the same reasons.

Ignorance and ego. I can deal with it, no worries.

Most of the time people get lucky, some don't.

If you consider the numbers it's relatively low compared to bodies in the water.

But any lost life is a tragedy, if it could have been prevented.

Sadly, the world is filled with potential 'Darwin Award' winners,

removing their code from the world's gene pool.

Edited August 1, 2010 by animatic

[Valentine]

People drown at surf spots world wide, for the same reasons.

Ignorance and ego. I can deal with it, no worries.

Most of the time people get lucky, some don't.

If you consider the numbers it's relatively low compared to bodies in the water.

But any lost life is a tragedy, if it could have been prevented.

Sadly, the world is filled with potential 'Darwin Award' winners,

removing their code from the world's gene pool.

As much as I deplore these tragedies I tend to agree. With good guidelines & warnings in place some drownings will be averted. Unfortunately you cannot teach common sense as although most people possess it others simply do not including those with big egos. As long as the lifeguards are on duty & doing their best, & having hotels, airlines, tour guides issuing warnings there is not much more which can be done although I strongly feel funding should be made available to boost the proficiency of the lifeguards as well as better equipment. Not sure that having a memorial & big warning sign at the arrivals is the answer.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Valentine

[draftvader]

....when they were dragged out to sea for their holiday death.

Does anybody else think this sounds like something they booked with their travel agent?

Sad for the people that have lost loved ones, but as a strong swimmer and a trained lifeguard I have to say water provides elegant proof of Darwin's theory of evolution.

[on-on]

I disagree with you guys on the common sense aspect. You could save probably a number of lives by educating people. Many people didn't grow up near the ocean and just by their nature don't understand anything about how it works or can't even fathom that anything like strong undercurrents even exist. If you grew up swimming and boating then you know about undertow and what not, but some tourist from a landlocked country may have no idea how serious this kind of thing is and probably views the ocean as a giant swimming pool. Putting a relatively prominent, but innocuous warning where they can see it might save some lives and it's not too in-your-face to be annoying to typical visitors. I think it'd be a good compromise instead of restricting the activities of more experienced island residents and visitors, which is the more odious approach we'd take back in The States. Of course you won't save everyone. I just returned from Phuket this weekend and it's of course chock full of drunk moron tourists, but not everyone who drowns is an egomaniac who flaunts the rules, some are just ignorant of the realities and might be saved if they had ever heard anyone point out the potential for serious danger.

[TaoNow]

The problem is the red flag system. Of course the beach guards don't want to be blamed for the drowning of a tourist, so they plant the red flags in April and leave them there throughout the monsoon season -- at least on Kata Noi, for example.

I go to Kata Noi to swim every week, throughout the year. The water conditions change from day to day.

This year, on most days, the sea at Kata Noi has been relatively calm (i.e., no rips). On those days, the red flags should be replaced with yellow or green. But no...

So, if we are to take the flags seriously, then entering the water above one's knees is banned during April through October.

Which doesn't make sense.

By all means, warn the tourists. Perhaps, at check-in, each hotel guest could receive a piece of paper in multiple languages which says "swim at your own risk".

But let's not 'red-flag' swimming just because a few a reckless.

[Jimi007]

I disagree with you guys on the common sense aspect. You could save probably a number of lives by educating people. Many people didn't grow up near the ocean and just by their nature don't understand anything about how it works or can't even fathom that anything like strong undercurrents even exist. If you grew up swimming and boating then you know about undertow and what not, but some tourist from a landlocked country may have no idea how serious this kind of thing is and probably views the ocean as a giant swimming pool. Putting a relatively prominent, but innocuous warning where they can see it might save some lives and it's not too in-your-face to be annoying to typical visitors. I think it'd be a good compromise instead of restricting the activities of more experienced island residents and visitors, which is the more odious approach we'd take back in The States. Of course you won't save everyone. I just returned from Phuket this weekend and it's of course chock full of drunk moron tourists, but not everyone who drowns is an egomaniac who flaunts the rules, some are just ignorant of the realities and might be saved if they had ever heard anyone point out the potential for serious danger.

I have to agree with you. Many people have never been around the ocean and think it's like a lake. Sometimes it is, but not when there is surf. I grew up at the beach and have lived at the beach all my life. My mother did her best to make me waterproof. I guess it worked. Swimming lessons before age 5, swim teams, junior lifeguards, sailing lessons, certified scuba diver at age 13 and yacht club ocean racing. I know how to read the ocean, still I have been lucky to come out alive on a few occasions. My brother is a retired captain of Los Angeles County California Lifeguards and president of the US Surf Life Saving Association. My nephews are lifeguards. The Thai lifeguards in my opinion are under trained and lack equipment as well as skills. People who are coming to Phuket for a holiday want to go in the ocean. So, set up a small area of the beach that is the least dangerous and man it with skilled lifeguards that are strong swimmers. I never see paddle boards used here or watercraft that are actually in the water instead of the parking lot. Putting up red flags isn't a very good option, as it doesn't seem to work. My nephew and some of his friends just went to Nicaragua this spring and helped train the local lifeguards there. I know the Aussie's come here once in a while and do the same, but I think they are volunteer surf club lifeguards, not paid professionals. Although Australia does have some paid professionals also. Basically, education and training for the lifeguards and the public is what is needed.

[Jimi007]

I saw yesterday that the Nai Harn lifeguards took some of my suggestions. They set up a small swimming area, had a paddle board and one guard with swim fins and a rescue tube. The other guards weren't prepared to go in the water.. My friend that runs the Thai restaurant at the south end of the beach told me some of the lifeguards are afraid of the water and won't go in. He also said one Thai kid drowned there yesterday. There is an article from another local news source about it, although it mention anyone drowned. Of course the Phuket Gazette has nothing about it...