Multiple Rescues At Kata Today - Should They Be Allowed To Close The Beaches?

[metice]

This afternoon, I witnessed four people being rescued by lifeguards in the space of 15 minutes at Kata. None of them took any notice of the clear red flags and signs stating dangerous rip currents. Two of them were extremely lucky as it took the lifeguard a while to paddle out through the big waves. A kite surfer assisted in rescuing one of them.

From the recent reports that I have seen, there have been at least 5 drownings in the past 2 weeks. It begs the question, should the lifeguards be allowed to stop people entering the water when the conditions are dangerous? I know that the law allows this in some countries and it is rigorously enforced when the rip currents are strong. I don't think they are allowed to do it here.

[LivinginKata]

Close the beaches .... and how would that be enforced ?? I just think those folks swimming in the sea right now are totally nuts. We see them every morning as we walk along Kata Beach.

[HongKongPhooey]

I don't think it's fair for the LG's to put their own lives at risk saving these simpletons. People should not be stopped from going in, but their should be signs up saying that they will not be rescued if they get in to trouble while swimming when red flags are flying.

[sportsman69]

Excellent photos metice, every bit helps.

I find this phenomena akin to the behaviour of lemmings. No amount of warnings nor signs are going to prevent this in the immediate future. Darwin's theory of evolution comes to mind. It will take time.

Casting common sense aside and leaving their brains in a box at the departing airport in case they make it back home, no visitor wants to believe anything contrary to what they were promised in the brochure or convinced by their travel agent to secure the booking for the holiday of their lifetime. Even in Australia where beach safety is a premium issue, problems occur mainly with foreign tourists who refuse to listen nor don't understand the danger even in knee deep water. I as a 5 yr old nearly drowned in such a situation during a Sunday School picnic at Avalon NSW. Short of every visitor being escorted by their own personal lifeguard or a fence of razor wire along the waters edge or a quadruple increase of the number of lifeguards I see no reduction for the alarming rate of fatalities for quite some time.

[Lannatyne]

If you're asking for an opinion, then YES, I think the beaches should be closed in weather like this. Although, how they'll manage to do it here is beyond my wildest imagination!

What, to me, beggars belief is that people (irrespective of where they come from, or their 'intelligence level') can't work out what rough seas and an <deleted> red flag means.

[samsiam]

How cool is that Lifie....still got his sunnies on his head after that surf.

[Guest]

Great photos! Shows the life of the moment. Did you took the first one with a long zoom?

I think it's not really possible to stop people entering the water, just need to educate.

How about placing information board to the beaches 'Summer season 2012 body count: 12'. And under it information about the currents. That might cause 'stop, breath, think and act' moments..

Edited June 5, 2012 by Guest

[metice]

The problem is that most people simply don't understand the dangers. They go in the water thinking that it's safe to paddle waist deep, then get taken along the beach by the volume of water continuously moving, end up in a deeper area where the rip current swiftly takes from the shore. To be fair, most people who end up being rescued don't intend to go 'swimming', they are just oblivious to the strength of the water even when it's shallow.

These people don't want to be educated about the dangers; they're here on holiday to have a good time. The only way to protect them is surely to stop them entering the water. When I lived in Cornwall, the lifeguards had the authority (backed up by the police) to close the beach. I only remember it happening on one occasion and they were able to enforce it.

It might be more difficult here, especially having seen the reaction of tourists to the lifeguards when they are told not to swim. You also have to consider the safety of the lifeguards. I heard that one drowned last year at Nai Harn?

At least the surfers were having a good time

[NomadJoe]

Close the beaches .... and how would that be enforced ??

Beaches all over the world seem to manage it.

[Somtamnication]

I just wanted to run up to the woman and and and and.... I mean, red flags, lifeguards telling her no, do not go in. And she goes in.

The pic of her hugging her man, next to the red flag, is priceless!!!!!

[MrE]

Beaches are closed regularly in other countries when conditions are unsafe and the same should be done here. It is unfair to the lifeguards to not close them especially in a country where employment is so tenuous and blame so readily passed down the pecking order. It is up to the provincial government to provide whatever is need to sufficiently post the warnings and to safely rescue the morons who then ignore them.

[Felt 35]

Allowed to close the beaches! The local Government would not do that to worried about losing money from tourists not coming.

How many die on the roads here annually and what gets done with that!

[samsiam]

Lose face if close the beach....like admitting they cannot control the ocean.

[LivinginKata]

Given the terrible rain today, I guess the beach is effectively closed. Can't see anyone venturing out today.

[tolsti]

Given the terrible rain today, I guess the beach is effectively closed. Can't see anyone venturing out today.

Wanna bet?.... there is some daft looking <deleted> on the beach at Patong as I speak.... soaked as he is he still keeps wandering back onto the beach!!

[Guest]

Lose face if close the beach....like admitting they cannot control the ocean.

All you need is a few anchored boats with full throttle pushing water back to stop the current...

[chuppachops]

Lose face if close the beach....like admitting they cannot control the ocean.

brilliant

[metice]

It's the beach vendors and their goods that need rescuing today Nasty conditions

[stevehaigh]

It's the beach vendors and their goods that need rescuing today Nasty conditions

i love the second pic in your post, you should enter that in a photo contest

[steelepulse]

3.5 high tides and huge surf, recipe for rips and drownings. Nice pics BTW!

[Sydneycraig]

The lifeguards need to be forcefully telling "idiots" not to go in and that they will not rescue them when they get into trouble... I go in with fins bodysurfing in big surf but this week, no way!!

[Sydneycraig]

Even if you don't die, I don't see much fun being in a washing machine ocean!! Go back to your hotel pool!!

[Attol]

It's the beach vendors and their goods that need rescuing today Nasty conditions

i love the second pic in your post, you should enter that in a photo contest

Or at least stick it on TripAdvisor for Phuket

[FlyByNights]

Guest houses and hotels should be responsible to advise their customers of the dangerous conditions at the beach. Some people just underestimate the power of the sea, and most of them do not know the meaning of the flags either.

[T_Dog]

Thanks for posting those photos metice as I always wondered how rough the surf gets there. Hats off to the rescue swimmers. That takes guts to go out in that melee to drag in some idiot that should know better.

[Attol]

Imagine the disaster had they not been able to come to terms to hire the lifeguards in time. .. Oh there I go again thinking to much!

Yeah to Metice!! as the photos will be in the news soon.

[Daewoo]

I am a patrolling lifesaver (lifesavers are volunteers, lifeguards are paid employees of the local council) in Australia. We use the same patrol board that this dude was using, so I assume that it was donated by Australia, and Surf Life Saving Australia provides the training to Thailand, and many other countries.

Here the lifeguard (not the lifesavers) has the authority and responsibility to close the beach. That only means that they cross over the flags and put up signs saying that the beach is closed, it does not make it illegal to enter the surf.

Most people will either not go in, or change what they will do (e.g. wade not swim).

From a lifesaving point of view, the message is that closing the beach removes legal responsibility for choosing not to save someone for risk to your own safety. I am not sure if that has been tested in court. Not sure if it removes the responsibility for the lifeguard.

If I saw a red flag, I would not immediately know that the beach was closed, I might just assume that Thailand uses red flags to define the swimming area, not red/yellow like we use in Australia.

Cheers,

Daewoo

[LivinginKata]

So, 'closing the beach' just removes any liability from legal claims.

Oh well, no worries, here in Thailand there is no legal claim option....

[Daewoo]

Also removes some of the responsibility for the lifeguard/lifesaver, and allows them more freedom to choose to risk their own life... although again, that choice is always there...

That surf didn't look particularly big, but I would have been using a rescue tube rather than a board... getting a big board through the surf is hard work and dangerous in itself...

[NomadJoe]

3.5 high tides and huge surf, recipe for rips and drownings. Nice pics BTW!

Yes, in fact noon to 1pm yesterday the very high 3.5m astronomical high tide combined with a bit of storm surge to create a very rare phenomenon called storm tide.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/

I have never seen waves hitting the sea walls on Kata like they were yesterday.