Foreigner dives to rescue motorbike – in Phuket street
The Phuket News

PHUKET: A Thai and his foreign friend were lucky last night when they drove their motorbike into a huge hole in Pang Muang Sai Kor Rd in Patong.

With the road flooded up to the level of the footpath after heavy rain, the two-metre-deep excavation was impossible to see. Two flimsy barriers and a "Slow Down" sign were not much help.

Pattanant “Mae” Thantong, who watched the drama unfold, told The Phuket News, “Two staff from the Patong Fire Station arrived with a rope and the foreign guy dove down into the hole and tied the rope to the bike wheel, then they helped each other to pull it up.

“Luckily no people were killed. But that was one dead bike!”

In fact, the bike was not completely dead. As it emerged from the murk below its turn indicator was still flashing away.

Ms Mae added, “Please help by posting this on your website so that no one else has an accident like this.

“I hope the Patong Municipality or police or whoever is responsible will pay urgent attention to this.”

No one from the municipality or police could be reached immediately.

Our thanks to Almas Omarov from Kazakhstan for the video. Full series of six videos here.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/foreigner-dives-to-rescue-motorbike-in-phuket-street-40160.php


-- Phuket News 2013-06-16

Video of crazy Russian diving down for the bike. Hope he had a tetanus jab and antibiotics after that stunt.

Here is another camera angle .. there are 6 parts. Click on links at the end of the video.

Russians, they do not hesitate! Get your hands on the problem approach!

How easily this could have resulted in deaths...the ongoing road works and lack of warnings and barriers associated with them are pathetic.

truly a world class destination

truly a world class destination

With 3rd World infastructure.

There are better roads in Issan. :)

Due to the world shortage of road cones (because NZ bought 178,000,000,000 of them and have them EVERYWHERE), the local custom in Pattaya is to hack down the closest small tree and bung it in the hole as a warning - much less obtrusive than a road cone, much prettier, and almost always readily at hand. Don't the Phuket locals do that?

EDIT: Oops - just checked out the video. That's a swimming pool, not a hole. A truck and trailer could disappear in there!

Due to the world shortage of road cones (because NZ bought 178,000,000,000 of them and have them EVERYWHERE), the local custom in Pattaya is to hack down the closest small tree and bung it in the hole as a warning - much less obtrusive than a road cone, much prettier, and almost always readily at hand. Don't the Phuket locals do that?

Oops - just checked out the video. that's a swimming pool, not a hole. A truck and trailer could disappear in there!

They've chopped down most of the trees to make hotels here. Not many trees left here now. :)

Due to the world shortage of road cones (because NZ bought 178,000,000,000 of them and have them EVERYWHERE), the local custom in Pattaya is to hack down the closest small tree and bung it in the hole as a warning - much less obtrusive than a road cone, much prettier, and almost always readily at hand. Don't the Phuket locals do that?

Oops - just checked out the video. that's a swimming pool, not a hole. A truck and trailer could disappear in there!

They've chopped down most of the trees to make hotels here. Not many trees left here now.

No problem - hack down a hotel and throw it in the hole, it's big enough!

Drove past at 1520 today, and they were putting cement barriers around the hole. Not sure what they will do on the market side.

Could have waited until morning to get the bikes. Not smart. Not smart at all. I would head to the clinic and ask for one of everything.

Drove past at 1520 today, and they were putting cement barriers around the hole. Not sure what they will do on the market side.

Could have waited until morning to get the bikes. Not smart. Not smart at all. I would head to the clinic and ask for one of everything.

For sure!! Saw them digging that hole out the other day...the colour of the mud and the junk coming out would contain near every pathogen known and then some.

Take a lot more than a drowned bike to get me anywhere near the place....

Due to the world shortage of road cones (because NZ bought 178,000,000,000 of them and have them EVERYWHERE), the local custom in Pattaya is to hack down the closest small tree and bung it in the hole as a warning - much less obtrusive than a road cone, much prettier, and almost always readily at hand. Don't the Phuket locals do that?

Oops - just checked out the video. that's a swimming pool, not a hole. A truck and trailer could disappear in there!

They've chopped down most of the trees to make hotels here. Not many trees left here now.

No problem - hack down a hotel and throw it in the hole, it's big enough!

They actually build hotels in the middle of the road here. Look at that structure on Soi Baanzan - it's halfway into the roadway. :) :)

As mentioned in another thread, definately a call for these on the roads of Phuket. You never know where and when a Soi will turn into a river. :) :)

http://www.google.co.th/imgres?imgurl=http://www.milweb.net/features/mv/dukw.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.milweb.net/features/dukw.php&h=427&w=640&sz=32&tbnid=MtzBIpKTCrhq1M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__wy4IOR-EQm-4peaclmSPVtogd-s=&docid=gnTeb9iz5SRgjM&sa=X&ei=xpC1UeOtAsbprAe154HIAg&ved=0CDkQ9QEwAQ&dur=1261

"Luckily no one was killed......"

Bit early to say that.

Will wait for the toxicological effects on the diver. Could be a few days.

Yingluck, Phuket needs quality tourists quick!!!! Not ones who are prepared to dive to recover a rental motorbike and avoid having to buy a new one for the owner, their brave efforts all over the internet. Yingluck, quality tourists don't ride bikes into holes that are deeper than graves.

Hang on, Yingluck, quality tourists don't visit places where roadside graves are the norm.

Reminds me of a true story of a guy(roommate) at graduate school(university). He was pompous, arrogant, conceited, full of himself until one rainy day his motorbike became a submarine precisely in the same manner the person in this article did.

All the arrogance, pompousness, and conceit got coated in dirty water and mud. Bike was fished out of the sewer line ditch.

Has anyone else read the headline as "Foreigner dies to rescue motorbike"?

Welcome to Phuket! NOT....

Yingluck, Phuket needs quality tourists quick!!!! Not ones who are prepared to dive to recover a rental motorbike and avoid having to buy a new one for the owner, their brave efforts all over the internet. Yingluck, quality tourists don't ride bikes into holes that are deeper than graves.

Hang on, Yingluck, quality tourists don't visit places where roadside graves are the norm.

"Yingluck, Phuket needs quality tourist quick!!!!" - Yingluck, Phuket needs the Thai Army to clean this place up so the the quality tourisst will come back. :)

They actually build hotels in the middle of the road here. Look at that structure on Soi Baanzan - it's halfway into the roadway.

I think the structure is there since about 10 years.

Was some discussion about the road, other landowners, gave some square meter away for the road, that stubborn owner not!

I can understand that they made him problems and did not let him finish the project, but why is that Building than still in the middle of the road! Long, to long time!

Would even had been better, to fine him and let him open the Hotel, since than, 10 years?,

the building would have paid for itself already some time ago!

Crazy!

PHUKET VIDEO REPORT: Infamous Black Hole of Patong may not be fixed for weeks
Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: After two motorbikes plunged into a giant pothole in the back streets of Patong early yesterday morning, Phuket authorities say they will not be able to start fixing the road until at least next week.

A video posted on YouTube shows a foreigner having to dive into the huge puddle – measuring at

least two meters deep, several meters across and about 10 meters long – in order to recover two motorbikes that lay submerged on the bottom of the massive hole in Phang Muang Sai Kor Road (map here).

“Thank you for reporting it to us. I had not heard of this particular problem before,” Teeraporn Jirarattanakorn, Director of the Department of Rural Roads Phuket office, which is responsible for construction of the road, told the Phuket Gazette.

“I will assign my officers to put more signs and more lights around the hazard tonight, so people can see the hole and avoid it. Hopefully, this will not happen again,” he added.

However, Mr Teeraporn explained that officers from Bangkok will have to come to Phuket to examine the hole before any repairs can be made.

“As the road is being built by a private contractor, we cannot undertake any repairs by ourselves. The Director-General of the Department of Rural Roads, Chatchai Thipsunaree, will have to assign officers from our head office in Bangkok to inspect the hole so repairs can be made.

“The next inspection of the ongoing project is not until June 25, and so we have to wait until then before the officers from Bangkok can order the private contractor to repair this giant hole,” said Mr Teeraporn.

“Thank you for telling us about this. If anyone comes across any other seriously damaged roads that we may be responsible for, please report them to us by calling 076-273021, Monday to Friday, between 8:30am and 4:30pm,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/PHUKET-VIDEO-REPORT-Infamous-Black-Hole-of-Patong-may-not-be-fixed-for-weeks-21363.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-06-17

"Thank you for reporting it to us. I had not heard of this particular problem before." - Now you know of the problem, and so does the rest of world, via You Tube and, no doubt, Facebook.

Not a great look for Phuket, being a World Class Tourist destination seeking high end tourist. :)

If this

"Thank you for reporting it to us. I had not heard of this particular problem before." - Now you know of the problem, and so does the rest of world, via You Tube and, no doubt, Facebook.

Not a great look for Phuket, being a World Class Tourist destination seeking high end tourist.

The actions and later reactions of the combined clown acts that attempt to run Phuket is simply mind-boggling. .a .never ending scource of embarressment, but they never actually seem to be embarressed ...

I would get a good lawyer and sue the ass off who ever is in charge of the Roads and I would also have a jab for any water prone diseases

I'm surprised the tourism guys didn't order they keep bike down there, the local PADI operators could have sold that one in as a wreck dive.

I would get a good lawyer and sue the ass off who ever is in charge of the Roads and I would also have a jab for any water prone diseases

A jab..yes,maybe..but.so many possible diseases to consider....not so straight forward.......as for the lawyer,etc. ...sorry but obviously you have no idea of how things work here...

isn't this technically "working"? should they not ask a thai doing that job ?

truly a world class destination

With 3rd World infastructure.

There are better roads in Issan.

For sure on that.

I would get a good lawyer and sue the ass off who ever is in charge of the Roads and I would also have a jab for any water prone diseases

A jab..yes,maybe..but.so many possible diseases to consider....not so straight forward.......as for the lawyer,etc. ...sorry but obviously you have no idea of how things work here...

Yes in the real world a lawyer would work but this is Patong.

Hope they learned their lesson not to drive into holes and not to expect barriers that should be there.

I'd have paid a thai 500 baht to dive down for me. Hepatitis, etc. No thanks!