Polish Woman Killed By Speed Boat Propellers At Jomtien Beach

[khunken]

Just how is a tourist supposed to know what the buoys are for? They could be to mark a swimming area or a non-swimming area.

This is a two pronged failure: no proper signs to inform tourists & a speedboat 'captain' (aka a worker) with a careless attitude.

Very sad & great sympathy for the husband.

[TommoPhysicist]

Really folks this is not a Thailand problem, happens all over the med every year, for at least the past 40 years.

Boat captains and swimmers don't have much sense of danger or safety. Water is dangerous.

[foxboy]

It is not an easy thing to get 'sucked' into a propeller.. the prop is pushing water away from it in a forward gear. You could be sucked in from the back of the boat only if it was reversing, in which case the driver should have been looking aft to see where he was going.

Very strange.

[koto]

So there are hundreds of beach chairs, some that are even partly in the water, and people shouldnt swim there? Yeah there are marked swimming areas, but it would be better if there were marked BOAT areas. And calling someone that drives one of these boats "Captain" is ridiculous.

Many people on holiday aren't aware of areas to swim and "all" should be told by the beach chair vendors and if there is a language problem, show, point.

So very sad and unnecessary.

Any boat operator needs to look or have a deck hand look! especially around the shore and people.

[koto]

Another tragic accident which could be avoid with proper regulation ....... oh well maybe those regulation will come in the next 200 years .. that's what make the difference with a country who care and one who doesnt give a dam_n expect the money it can bring.

There was proper regulation - marked off areas where swimming was not permitted - but sadly she was unaware of them.

Because nobody makes anybody aware of swimming rules or safety.

[mok199]

we have all seen the way these speed boat operaterors ( and tour buses and any vehicle) opperated by anyone who is ''doing buisness''.they have no regard for anyone or anything except to make as much money ,or as many runs back and forth ,as possible....speed limits ,narrow soi's,markers mean very little...

[BlackPuddingBertha]

What is any vessel with a motor doing within 5 miles of any beach where people are swimming? All such things (jet-skis, powerboats etc.) should be completely banned, not least because they are a noisy nuisance.

[mervyn yap]

Speed boats speeding close to swimmers or divers are very common on Phi Phi Island.The boat driver seems to do this for the thrill at the cost of life for others.Some of the passengers enjoy it too.They cheer loudly when the boat driver does this.

[Briggsy]

I was down at the beach on Jomtien just a week ago. I noticed the buoys. They are not very far from the water's edge at all, maybe less than 50 metres depending on the tide. I guessed by observing that this is a line beyond which boats and jetskis may not progress. However the jet skis did enter the area to organise a rental though they seemed to tell the customers to go out beyond the buoys.

There are no signs and it is no way obvious what is going on and what the swimming regulations, if any, are, particularly if you are not familiar with the beach. The story from the speedboat driver sounds like a crock. Odds were he was not observing what was in the water in the direction he was travelling, probably backwards or turning round.

However this is Pattaya in Thailand and next week there will be another easily preventable death involving a high-powered craft in inshore waters. What a pointless waste of life.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Briggsy

[HaleySabai]

oh well maybe those regulation will come in the next 200 years .

In spite of the modern form,the content of this country is easily 200yrs behind many parts of the world where systems,regulations and rules are actually implemented and enforced. After more than 10yrs of living here, I have of late, had serious thoughts of leaving.

[LaoPo]

It is not an easy thing to get 'sucked' into a propeller.. the prop is pushing water away from it in a forward gear. You could be sucked in from the back of the boat only if it was reversing, in which case the driver should have been looking aft to see where he was going.

Very strange.

Very good point; also, the engines must have been running at a greater speed than just in "free gear".

Next to that, how on earth does a foreign Lady, who's enjoying a cruise and on shore in Jomtien for the first time in her life, realize or understands all the buzz and fuzz, including buoys (or not) in the water and hundreds of people around her on the beach and many of them also swimming?

The boat was probably silent with the engines NOT running yet when she was swimming in it's neighbourhood and than started by the "captain" without him looking around properly with fatal result.

Really sad

Edited January 12, 2013 by LaoPo

[finnomick1]

Trying to aportion blame of this tragic accident to the swimmer is, as so many posters have written, a load of bullshit. I've had an apartment on Jomtien beach for some years. Yes, there are ' safe swimming ' areas buoyed off but a couple of hundred people in them would mean standing room only. The banana boat guys rellish in tipping their customers off in the shallow areas which of course, is full of holidaymakers frolicking in the water. Are the buoys mentioned in the report marked in such a way that any nationality would understand their meaning ? For instance, the outline of a swimmer with a big red cross through it ? I've not seen them but then I refrain from risking my life playing russian roulette with the speeboats, jet-skis and water taxis. Does a water taxi aka high powered speed boat only have a ' captain ' ? Maybe they should also have someone at the stern of the boat who helps people on and off and deals with the anchor ( if they don't already have this person in the crew ). Whatever, this won't change yet another ' accident ' and I don't see that anything will be done about it in the near future.

[fakename]

• No one is snorkeling at Jomtien beach, so I doubt she was doing any diving around the boat. What happend, as always, we will never really know. Boats and swimmers dont really mix.
  

[notime]

It is not an easy thing to get 'sucked' into a propeller.. the prop is pushing water away from it in a forward gear. You could be sucked in from the back of the boat only if it was reversing, in which case the driver should have been looking aft to see where he was going.

Very strange.

Exactly! I really don't understand how brainwashed some people on this forum are to straight away believe the reports of Thai media based on version of events told by the person whose vessel killed her. We haven't heard the other side of this story because dead people don't talk! But the Polish media is plainly reporting this incident as "she was struck by a motor boat". Nothing about swimming close or even under the boat while a good skipper was lowering his gear that resulted in her "being sucked into a propeller". Hey, nobody wants to die and I'm sure she was not an idiot and wouldn't swim near the propeller of the departing boat. Her only fault was that she came here believing glossy brochures and all the hype about Pattaya -being an "international resort". RIP.

[stoli]

I have been spending quite a few days at the beach lately, Pattaya & Jomtien, and the buoys don't send me a message of where to (or not to) swim. I feel that they are to tell the boat operators where to be extremely careful. As they should be, always. This death was needless. Another unskilled speed boat driver out with his buddies is what he was thinking...trying to impress everyone with his (or lack of) skills at operating a speedboat.

[sport]

BlackPuddingBertha

Posted Today, 17:31

What is any vessel with a motor doing within 5 miles of any beach where people are swimming? All such things (jet-skis, powerboats etc.) should be completely banned, not least because they are a noisy nuisance.

This is a very tragic accident, please have a sensible perspective on the issue.

[annabel]

Very surprised this has not happened more often.

I have a condo down in Jomtien and there are No buoys placed and motor boats always very close to the shoreline where people swim.

So here we go again... more lies from the media and also will be from the efficient police to cover up the inefficiencies of this LOS part of the world ... And life goes on !! My pen ri

[shrimpythailand]

all those speed boats come in pretty close to beachfront... even parked right off the sand... even swimming 50 yards off the beach can be dangerous... in this case fatal...all the banana float boats fly right by about 50-100 yards off the beach...I have been there...decided NOT to go for a long swim out off the beach to show how good a swimmer I am after I saw the boats flying by... you would have NO chance to get out of the way..very sad but what can you say? the boat "captains" out there on Jomtien beach... it really is the job of the boat captain to check the water as well ...driving or starting the boat...have to watch for swimmers yes? obviously she may have been too far out off the beach... so much for safety from the thai boat driver...or do we blame the swimmer? mai pen rai here Murphy's Law... I am beginning to think after 12 years in thailand that Murphy was maybe part thai...

Wanda Horst- Sikorska, one of Poland’s most eminent Professors of Medicine was struck by a boat propeller and has died from her injuries in Jontien .

[BlackPuddingBertha]

This is a very tragic accident, please have a sensible perspective on the issue.

My perspective is eminently sensible. If things were done my way there would never be an accident like this one.

[DD13]

Maybe a sensible idea to send the whole content of this post, and our remarks, to the Mayor and Council authorities, to let them see just how irresponsible the way things are conducted in and around Pattaya really is

Edited January 12, 2013 by DD13

[Pormax]

A very good friend of mine runs a 'Water Sports' business in Cyprus and occassionally I would help him out in the high season.

He had a number of speedboats of varying speeds plus 4 jet skis. He had a properly built platform with ramps protruding 40 metres out to sea.

When any vessel left the ramps they had to travel a further 60mtrs at a maximum fast walking pace between two lines of red bouys. At the end of the red bouys was two large white bouys and only after passing these could you open the throttle. Then there were other red bouys stretched along the length of the beach 100 metres off shore. Inside this was a no go for any vessels as it was a designated swimming area.

All boats had two way radio and the jet skis were fitted with a system that those on duty at the time could disable the engine if they got more than 100 metres from another vessel or were acting recklessly in any way.

On return, entry must be between the two white bouys and speed reduced to a fast walking pace. All vessels were met by staff 15 - 20 metres before the platform where the engine was cut and then guided in.

You can imagine my horror at seeing how the boat and jet ski operaters work in Thailand.

To see how a Water Sports business is run with safety the top priority, then go to www.mikeswatersport.com The beach there is the one thing I miss after moving from Cyprus to hear.

[netcyberg]

May she rest in peace. It's a tragedy.

But this will be happening until Thais realize there should be some modern and sickly rules applied.

The same goes to motorbikes where people getting killed daily.

Unfortunately this is Asia, so the human death does not count as tragedy and extraordinary accident but a regular thing. And easy money and fun has a higher priority rather than a common sense.

So be careful and take precautions yourself. Locals don't care about your safety in this part of the world.

"If you’re drowning, you’re on your own" (с).

Edited January 12, 2013 by netcyberg

[pavloh]

Further down Jomtien there are no buoys and the boats go between swimmers pulling their banana boats. I once signaled them to move out and they gave me the finger. They don't care .Farang Life has no value.

[Thaifever]

The driver was probably in reverse, sitting in his seat looking forward over the bow when "something" hit the propeller. Those boats should be far far away from swimmers. They put a buoy in the water to make a dividing line? Some people are posting that she shouldn't be swimming behind the boat, but if she was able to get that close to a boat, so could any kid that doesn't know any better. The speedboats are parked too close period.

[LaoPo]

Hey, nobody wants to die and I'm sure she was not an idiot and wouldn't swim near the propeller of the departing boat.

Her only fault was that she came here believing glossy brochures and all the hype about Pattaya -being an "international resort". RIP.

No, she wat not an idiot, far from it...she was:

"..Wanda Horst- Sikorska, one of Poland’s most eminent Professors of Medicine.."

An intelligent Lady on holiday and NOT expecting a double-engined 12 seater big speedboat to start the engines when she was swimming near it

Edited January 12, 2013 by LaoPo

[Jingthing]

From the Pattaya tourism point of view, she wasn't even staying in town. Sorry for the cynical note but more reason NOTHING will be done to prevent future such tragedies.

[MobileContent]

RIP and the captain should have looked around the boat before starting the engine.

[rbrooks]

Lets see. What does it take to get a captains license in Thailand? I will bet any money it takes absolutely nothing except a payment to some government agency responsible for a license in that district. In my country it takes some classroom instruction and sea time to be awarded a license. Jomtien is no stranger to boats, jetskis and tourists. Where is a marine patrol to enforce codes? Oh I forgot, its Thailand there are no codes and there is no Marine patrol. I am sure there will be an investigation, maybe an apology and then next day business as usual.

[cigar7]

So is the boat Captain going to be charged with a criminal offense? Are Pattaya Police going to allow boat Captains to murder people on the open water?

Edited January 13, 2013 by cigar7

[Fortunate1]

A talented life cut short by an unqualified idiot with his hand on a powerful throttle lever. I don't suppose he will ever give her a second thought.

At most he will give a packet of noodles to a monk and the slate's wiped clean.

May she Rest In Peace.