Russian, Belgian tourists drown at Phuket beaches

[webfact]

Russian, Belgian tourists drown at Phuket beaches
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: Two tourists drowned within half an hour of each other yesterday on the west coast of Phuket.

In both cases, red warning flags had been posted on the beaches.

Belgian Laurent Jacques Leopold Wanter, 43, was pulled from the surf at Laem Sing Beach, north of Patong at 3:30pm.

Despite efforts by lifeguards to resuscitate him, Mr Wanter was pronounced dead minutes later.

He had been swimming with his wife when the couple were overpowered by waves.

“My husband and I were swimming. Big waves came and we were dragged further out to sea. We were frightened. We screamed for help. I was rescued, but my husband was pulled out of the water unconscious,” Ms Wanter said.

Not 30 minutes later, Patong Police received a report of a tourist drowning near Loma Park (map here).

Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan identified the drowning victim as 29-year-old Russian national Aleksandr Poleshchenko.

“My brother and I went swimming at about 4pm. I swam out to deeper water, but Aleksandr was playing in water that was only knee deep,” Aleksandr’s older brother told police through a translator.

“I saw a big wave hit him and he disappeared,” Mr Poleshchenko said

“I screamed for help from beach guards. They got his body, but he was already gone,” he said.

The Poleshchenko brothers were scheduled to fly back to Russia today.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Russian-Belgian-tourists-drown-at-Phuket-beaches-21401.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-06-21

[laurentbkk]

such tragedy could be avoided if people follow instruction of red flag ..... Just wonder why they went to swim ..... RIP for those 2 guys .

[eezergood]

Arrogance! People believe they can cheat mother nature! but still sadd news

[Eesat]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

[Battybird]

People shouldn't be so dumb as to try and swim or even go in the water when it is obviously rough whether red flags are flying or not. The power of water is awesome and should never be underestimated.

[LivinginKata]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

Some tourists don't take any notice even when a guard tries to stop them. I've witnessed this so many times on Karon and Kata beaches. They think they know better ..

[hansgruber]

Why not charge the hotels a lifeguard levy? They profit indirectly from the beaches.

If hotels chipped in just 5k a month each you could have guards and all the equipment year round.

Administration on Phuket is infantile.

[oldsailor35]

Maybe the Russians did not understand that the red flags were a danger signal, they must be used to red flags flying , thought it was normal.

[winstonc]

Maybe the Russians did not understand that the red flags were a danger signal, they must be used to red flags flying , thought it was normal.

not even slightly amusing,,hope it dont happen to someone you know,,,,,,,clueless

[surfinglife]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

I live in Pattaya but travel to Phuket several times every wet season to surf at Kata beach. I'm always amazed how many men, women and children swim in these very dangerous beach conditions. Often quite big, powerful waves, strong undertow and, rightly so, the beach is covered with red flags and no swimming signs which are completely ignored by the punters. Rather than putting the useless red flags out they should have big multi-lingual signs saying "12 people have drowned here in last 2 years....YOU could ne next!"......Another problem these swimmers face is the out of control beginner surfers and the runaway boards.....if you come from Sydney you know swimming and surfing don't mix but if you are from Moscow you've probably never seen a surfboard before (until it hits you on the head). So please dear Russian tourists, swim in your hotel pool and leave the sea to us surfies:-) Safer and more fun for everybody...

[rbrooks]

Rip tides take tourist lives every year here in Florida. We have all the education, signs, trained lifeguards, and still they try to brave the waters and lose their lives. Educated tourists know that a rip tide will pull out to see not under and just let it pass and you can swim back to shore if you do not try to swim back in against the rip tide. Tourists panic, think of sharks and deeper water with unknown hazards and drown.

[CLUBBER]

RIP to both , terrible for the families . Drownings in Phuket means summer is here unfortunately

[IsaanUSA]

I don't know much about the ocean or sea, but if there is a red flag, you can't even walk in knee deep water?

[lee b]

Maybe they did'nt know what the red flag means?

[Eesat]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

I live in Pattaya but travel to Phuket several times every wet season to surf at Kata beach. I'm always amazed how many men, women and children swim in these very dangerous beach conditions. Often quite big, powerful waves, strong undertow and, rightly so, the beach is covered with red flags and no swimming signs which are completely ignored by the punters. Rather than putting the useless red flags out they should have big multi-lingual signs saying "12 people have drowned here in last 2 years....YOU could ne next!"......Another problem these swimmers face is the out of control beginner surfers and the runaway boards.....if you come from Sydney you know swimming and surfing don't mix but if you are from Moscow you've probably never seen a surfboard before (until it hits you on the head). So please dear Russian tourists, swim in your hotel pool and leave the sea to us surfies:-) Safer and more fun for everybody...

Surely just a pair of flippers would be ok if you're a strong swimmer,wouldn't it?

[JetsetBkk]

As I have posted before, years ago, I once went into the water when I didn't see any flags and the life guard shouted at me to get out, which I did.

I don't know how far apart the flags are on the beaches concerned, but it is probably quite easy to not notice them. That's when an alert life guard is essential.

[atyclb]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

I live in Pattaya but travel to Phuket several times every wet season to surf at Kata beach. I'm always amazed how many men, women and children swim in these very dangerous beach conditions. Often quite big, powerful waves, strong undertow and, rightly so, the beach is covered with red flags and no swimming signs which are completely ignored by the punters. Rather than putting the useless red flags out they should have big multi-lingual signs saying "12 people have drowned here in last 2 years....YOU could ne next!"......Another problem these swimmers face is the out of control beginner surfers and the runaway boards.....if you come from Sydney you know swimming and surfing don't mix but if you are from Moscow you've probably never seen a surfboard before (until it hits you on the head). So please dear Russian tourists, swim in your hotel pool and leave the sea to us surfies:-) Safer and more fun for everybody...

Some good points. Phuket often has wind chop and one wave after another without the standard lulls between sets seen with ground swells. Often a hard onshore or sideway wind is blowing making wave surfing more of a "good workout" rather than surfing. There are some good days though especially at Kalim. Even for lifelong surfers the experience can be less than fun, although understanding and respecting the ocean makes it very unlikely we will die. The other vital point is not to drink and swim.

[atyclb]

They need to have permanent lifeguards,maybe with Tourist Police backup to stop these consistent drownings every low season.

I live in Pattaya but travel to Phuket several times every wet season to surf at Kata beach. I'm always amazed how many men, women and children swim in these very dangerous beach conditions. Often quite big, powerful waves, strong undertow and, rightly so, the beach is covered with red flags and no swimming signs which are completely ignored by the punters. Rather than putting the useless red flags out they should have big multi-lingual signs saying "12 people have drowned here in last 2 years....YOU could ne next!"......Another problem these swimmers face is the out of control beginner surfers and the runaway boards.....if you come from Sydney you know swimming and surfing don't mix but if you are from Moscow you've probably never seen a surfboard before (until it hits you on the head). So please dear Russian tourists, swim in your hotel pool and leave the sea to us surfies:-) Safer and more fun for everybody...

Surely just a pair of flippers would be ok if you're a strong swimmer,wouldn't it?

A good understanding of ocean waves / currents and experience because even with flippers if you dont understand you can still get exhausted and drown.

[wooloomooloo]

I learnt everything I needed to know about surf and currents when I was child.

Ultimately, it's a personal responsibility.

[belg]

you bet your life on some

ex-fisherman (now guard)

to resussitate you ?

they were warn not to swim

[personchester]

Arrogance! People believe they can cheat mother nature! but still sadd news

Not arrogance, lack of knowledge about potential sea-beach danger, hence the disaster, RIP ...

[fearless1]

In terms of not swimming when there are red flags, it's a tough call. I just got back from Phuket. For the 4 days I was in Kamala there were red flags flying all along the beach. If I obeyed the red flag rule I would not have been able to swim in the ocean at any time during the 4 days. As it was, I swam every single day and the conditions were no problem at all. I think that sometimes the red flags are put out when the conditions don't warrant it which leads people to eventually just ignore them. I'm not sure what the answer is but I do feel that the red flags are not being used properly as a deterrent.

[stevenl]

In terms of not swimming when there are red flags, it's a tough call. I just got back from Phuket. For the 4 days I was in Kamala there were red flags flying all along the beach. If I obeyed the red flag rule I would not have been able to swim in the ocean at any time during the 4 days. As it was, I swam every single day and the conditions were no problem at all. I think that sometimes the red flags are put out when the conditions don't warrant it which leads people to eventually just ignore them. I'm not sure what the answer is but I do feel that the red flags are not being used properly as a deterrent.

If you were here in the last 2 weeks, IMO the red flags were up with reason.

But yes,sometimes they should not be up.

[Jimi007]

In terms of not swimming when there are red flags, it's a tough call. I just got back from Phuket. For the 4 days I was in Kamala there were red flags flying all along the beach. If I obeyed the red flag rule I would not have been able to swim in the ocean at any time during the 4 days. As it was, I swam every single day and the conditions were no problem at all. I think that sometimes the red flags are put out when the conditions don't warrant it which leads people to eventually just ignore them. I'm not sure what the answer is but I do feel that the red flags are not being used properly as a deterrent.

If you were here in the last 2 weeks, IMO the red flags were up with reason.

But yes,sometimes they should not be up.

I'll agree with your statement Steven. The weather has been a bit rough here the past couple of weeks. I'm not big on swimming with jellyfish either that have been in the news lately. But I love big surf! The lifeguards ask me, what kind of fins do you use? Church-hills. Although it's not about the fins. It's about the lifelong experience of being in the ocean that taught me when and where to go into the ocean. I'm sure you might know what I'm talking about...

[asupeartea]

Doesn't Phuket have a may undertow this time of year?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[IrishIvan]

How come they dont have any volunteer life guards? Or doesnt this have as much glamour as volunteer traffic controllers or tourist police?

In Australia lifeguards are mostly volunteers

[DCasper]

RIP in both.

http://www.thailand1.net/phuket-laem-singh-beach.html

"The waves at Laem Singh beach are not dangerous at all, but it requires to get used to the enormous force and power behind this amazing water when it's crashing into the bay."

One of the pictures on the same web page looks like a rip with about a dozen people in the water. I could be wrong but I would not be swimming.

[eezergood]

How come they dont have any volunteer life guards? Or doesnt this have as much glamour as volunteer traffic controllers or tourist police?

In Australia lifeguards are mostly volunteers

It would require - social conscience not making face, effort & dedication. These triats are not so common here

[JetsetBkk]

RIP in both.

http://www.thailand1.net/phuket-laem-singh-beach.html

"The waves at Laem Singh beach are not dangerous at all, but it requires to get used to the enormous force and power behind this amazing water when it's crashing into the bay."

One of the pictures on the same web page looks like a rip with about a dozen people in the water. I could be wrong but I would not be swimming.

From the same site:

At times these waves can be up to 3 meters high and more so that ending up in the washing machine certainly requires a bit of breath to avoid any discomforting situations.

I presume the phrase "discomforting situations" is a euphemism for "drowning".