Tourist boat sinks outside Pattaya - At least 5 foreigners dead, many seriously injured

[paz]

RIP

Boats tend to sink a lot in Thailand, I stay away from them like the plague. Nothing beats the safety of my couch and computer chair, glad I never wasted time going to this overcrowded garbage dump resort island.

How do u know its overcrowded since u never been there.

Because the the new piece says that clearly, learn to to read.

[Prbkk]

Time for the diplomatic community to call in Mdm Yingluck and tell her in no uncertain terms what will be done if things don't change fast. IE, sick of your BS, make things happen NOW or the travel advisories will be toughened. Forget your 500 Baht and get serious.

[Thai at Heart]

Time for the diplomatic community to call in Mdm Yingluck and tell her in no uncertain terms what will be done if things don't change fast. IE, sick of your BS, make things happen NOW or the travel advisories will be toughened. Forget your 500 Baht and get serious.

I am awaiting some right wing numpty to pipe up that governments just make it worse and that we should all learn to fend for ourselves and if we don't like quaint little death trap Thailand, we should go home.

[Basil B]

How can a ferry 'captain' ( and I use the rank loosely) from a sinking boat 'do a runner' I'd like to know ... Was he first to be rescued or did he swim away never to be seen ? Same old ' will turn himself in later ' when he's got enough money to buy his way out of any responsibility

RIP to those unfortunate souls and condolences to all affected

From a mariner

captain ‘says he tripped and fell into lifeboat’ [Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino]

[JimG]

I rode to Ko Larn a few weeks ago on one of these boats. They are OLD. The one I was on was grossly overloaded. We had to stand on the focsle (the front). The only place I could see life jackets was on the upper deck. I saw none on the lower deck where I was standing. There must have been 200 people on that boat. There could not have been more than half that number of life jackets, and as I said, there were none on the lower deck. That's probably why people all tried to go to the upper deck when there was a problem; they were looking for life jackets.

There is no way to tell if there are missing people unless somebody reports a friend missing. There is no record of who or how many people are on that boat.

It was just a matter of time....

[EyesWideOpen]

Fairly pathetic. Every time a tourist dies in one of these absurd marine accidents, there is a big hue and cry for more safety regulations. Yet nothing is ever done, and the next month more people die in a new accident.

I have always wondered what level of accident would be necessary for actual safety regulations to be enforced. This may be the one, because with some Russians killed and a Chinese national as well, their embassies will definitely be making some noise on this incident. The captain doing a runner is such classic Thai maneuver is it almost funny.......

Note to self: Do not ever set foot on a Thai ferry unless myself and every member of my family is an excellent

swimmer.......

[Basil B]

Time for the diplomatic community to call in Mdm Yingluck and tell her in no uncertain terms what will be done if things don't change fast. IE, sick of your BS, make things happen NOW or the travel advisories will be toughened. Forget your 500 Baht and get serious.

The UK advises all citizens to avoid air travel in Indonesia, so i can see advice about travel in Thailand coming next...

[MJP]

Very sad, but no surprise and utterly avoidable.

I remember Koh Samet ferries routinely sinking between Ban Phe and Samet. There's one "Captain" whose ferry I simply won't board. A few years back he severely listed for the boat the whole crossing, everyone put on life jackets, well the ones that were available. A few months later, more than fully laden, he capsized it next to Ban Phe pier when he let the ropes go, everyone survived thankfully. Lunacy, just lunacy. Nothing but lunacy.

Thailand remains one of the most dangerous tourist destinations yet little is ever said about it.

[vladbran]

RIP

So sad for those who lost their lives.

[papa al]

Wow. I was planning to go to the island today and return on the 5:30 boat, but

stayed home with stomach ache.

[Thai at Heart]

Well it's getting to a point now that bus crashes and train derailments are a weekly event nationwide.

Tourists really should be advised to steer clear of buses and boats.

[allucero]

We visit Thailand every year and a couple of times visit Phi-Phi Island. We have not visit that island since the simony. My wife wants to take her family there however, every time we visit Phi-Phi the ferry boat looks old and has about 20 layers of paint, the windows move, the wood on the sides of the boat separate, and it is overloaded with people,luggage and bags. We will not go on any boats in until they are replaced. And that goes for anywhere in Thailand. Now we will only worry about the condition of the roads and driving and that is a danger itself. We now hire a driver and mini-van, I also will not drive on Thai roads ever..

[Khonper]

RIP

Boats tend to sink a lot in Thailand, I stay away from them like the plague. Nothing beats the safety of my couch and computer chair, glad I never wasted time going to this overcrowded garbage dump resort island. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

How do u know its overcrowded since u never been there.

Because the the new piece says that clearly, learn to to read.

The ferry was overcrowded, says nothing about Koh Larn island is overcrowded.YOU better learn to read and understand.

[Elfin]

Time for Foreign Embassies (Russian and Chinese especially) to protest severely to Yingluck and publish on their websites warnings about the TRUE risks for all tourists and visitors to Thailand.

[crumpled]

RT@RichardBarrow: The boat was taking tourists from Koh Larn back to Pattaya when it is believed the water pump failed. It took on water & capsized #Thailand

... so, it was known - by whomever responsible for the boat's maintanance - that it was seriously leaking.

Not necessarily a serious leak. Could be water washing over the side of the boat. Still far too early and varying reports to have a good idea of what happened. But if it was overcrowded then the freeboard (level between the gunwhale and the sea could be next to nothing) allowing water to slop inboard.

The sea can be a cruel and volatile mistress and always needs to be treated with respect. No breakdown trucks or ambulances there to help you out when you get into difficulties. You cannot get out and walk to safety either (not being funny). Years in the Merchant navy and on fishing boats makes you realise the difficulties.

Very scary for those who cannot swim !!

[anon345535]

It's amazing / ridiculous how a country that thrives off of tourism has such a blatent disregard for tourists safety. I remember going to Koh Phangnan in December '04 thinking the speed boat was completely full and about to leave. But no, another, at least, 20 people were ushered on to stand in the middle with pretty much nothing to hold on to. It was no surprise the following party a boat capsized and double figures died I believe.

Where I am from, if there is a chance of a serious accident, you don't do it. Here it seems that if there is a chance of not having a serious accident, you do it.

$$$

[Torrens54]

My sympathies are with the relatives of the dead and injured but I have to ask:

Why would any sane Person, Tourist or Local, board a Ferry that is SO OVERLOADED?

If you go to board the thing and it looks overloaded, don't get on!

Even if you are on board and you see the thing is becoming overloaded, GET OFF! So what if the ops don't cough up a refund, much better than risking your life on the thing.

People have to learn to take some degree of responsibility for their own safety and that of their family. Honestly, some folk just simply DON'T THINK!

[wooloomooloo]

Years in the Merchant navy and on fishing boats makes you realise the difficulties.

Good post, Uncle Albert.

RIP to those who've lost their lives.

[MJP]

It's amazing / ridiculous how a country that thrives off of tourism has such a blatent disregard for tourists safety. I remember going to Koh Phangnan in December '04 thinking the speed boat was completely full and about to leave. But no, another, at least, 20 people were ushered on to stand in the middle with pretty much nothing to hold on to. It was no surprise the following party a boat capsized and double figures died I believe.

Where I am from, if there is a chance of a serious accident, you don't do it. Here it seems that if there is a chance of not having a serious accident, you do it.

$$$

One of the real problems is government price fixing of tickets for domestic travel. The maximum a ferry is permitted to charge to go from Ban Phe to Koh Samet is 50 Baht. Just using this as an example, it is 50 Baht.

Well, it was 50 Baht over 10 years ago!

So the ferries make their money by shipping building materials and supplies for restaurants to the island and they can charge much more for this. This means you now have people on the lower deck and heavy building materials on the upper deck. It's why the ferry at Ban Phe dock I mentioned earlier capsized.

Or you overload the boat with passengers.

Or both.

Price fixing kills people.

[Basil B]

My sympathies are with the relatives of the dead and injured but I have to ask:

Why would any sane Person, Tourist or Local, board a Ferry that is SO OVERLOADED?

If you go to board the thing and it looks overloaded, don't get on!

Even if you are on board and you see the thing is becoming overloaded, GET OFF! So what if the ops don't cough up a refund, much better than risking your life on the thing.

People have to learn to take some degree of responsibility for their own safety and that of their family. Honestly, some folk just simply DON'T THINK!

So you are on Koh Larn, when you board the ferry not too many people on board, but as time goes by more and more people get on board, are you going to get off? particularly if it is the last ferry back???

Lot of speculation, over loaded, pump failed, passenger moved, but too many accidents in recent months, lot of talk of better safety yet no action, clearly those ferries should display on board how many passengers they can carry and the number of crew required, and more importantly the rules should be enforced.

[sz1a]

Planes, buses, taxis wielding samurai swords and chloroform, minivans, trains and boats. I guess it's time to buy hiking boots.

[bangon04]

Police want to talk to the ferry captain to try to ascertain the cause of the accident, Col Suwan said

So they havent already? Shouldnt this of been the first person they contacted!

RT@RichardBarrow: Captain of the boat that sank apparently fled the scene.

is anyone surprised? Guess he could swim, even with his bag loaded with the day's takings...

Is it fair to think that a disproportionate number of Asians will die from drowning because they do not automatically learn to swim when they are in school?

[Jackson86]

Very sad to know of this accident. I was at pattaya last month but I didn't travel by boat. Personally I like thailand as a country but I do agree that more has to be done to improve safety for both locals and tourists.

[Trouble]

It seems not a day goes by when reading Thai Visa I don't seem some report of death to tourists in Thailand. Yes, I know a lot of tourists head to Thailand but it seems like taking a bus, train, boat, or even a plane in Thailand can be dangerous to your health. When I travel to Thailand I do not ever stop to think of what could happen - I should but I don't, I'm on holiday. I hopefully will change that attitude when I travel later this month. It does seem that there are far too many accidents like this incident with the ferry. It has happened before and will happen again IF the government does not do something about it. It is ultimately the government's most important responsibility to watch out for public safety. That's the single most important reason government is in business, the public welfare. It seems to be forgotten in Thailand and a lot of that has to do with corruption. Don't look for anything to get better anytime soon.

My condolences to the family's of those killed in the accident.

[MJP]

It seems not a day goes by when reading Thai Visa I don't seem some report of death to tourists in Thailand. Yes, I know a lot of tourists head to Thailand but it seems like taking a bus, train, boat, or even a plane in Thailand can be dangerous to your health. When I travel to Thailand I do not ever stop to think of what could happen - I should but I don't, I'm on holiday. I hopefully will change that attitude when I travel later this month. It does seem that there are far too many accidents like this incident with the ferry. It has happened before and will happen again IF the government does not do something about it. It is ultimately the government's most important responsibility to watch out for public safety. That's the single most important reason government is in business, the public welfare. It seems to be forgotten in Thailand and a lot of that has to do with corruption. Don't look for anything to get better anytime soon.

My condolences to the family's of those killed in the accident.

The government is doing something about it.

It's the government that fixes the fares so low that the ferry owners overload the vessels to make the crossings pay in the first place.

That's the core problem here. Government price fixing. It's the same with the buses.

[Popscene]

The Captain will end up with a 500 baht fine!

[tomyumchai]

Must have capsized very fast, assume many did not have chance to grab a life vest. those boats can be very top heavy especially if over crowded.

What ever happened to the safety crack down???

i have a photo of the life vests on a koh chang ferry theyre dated 1971. id guess this was when the boat was new. they dont look as if they have ever been inspected as they are wrapped in disintergrating plastic wrapping and the sun hasnt done them a lot of good as they crumbling to dust. i cant imagine why any other vessel would be any different.

[tomyumchai]

It seems not a day goes by when reading Thai Visa I don't seem some report of death to tourists in Thailand. Yes, I know a lot of tourists head to Thailand but it seems like taking a bus, train, boat, or even a plane in Thailand can be dangerous to your health. When I travel to Thailand I do not ever stop to think of what could happen - I should but I don't, I'm on holiday. I hopefully will change that attitude when I travel later this month. It does seem that there are far too many accidents like this incident with the ferry. It has happened before and will happen again IF the government does not do something about it. It is ultimately the government's most important responsibility to watch out for public safety. That's the single most important reason government is in business, the public welfare. It seems to be forgotten in Thailand and a lot of that has to do with corruption. Don't look for anything to get better anytime soon.

My condolences to the family's of those killed in the accident.

The government is doing something about it.

It's the government that fixes the fares so low that the ferry owners overload the vessels to make the crossings pay in the first place.

That's the core problem here. Government price fixing. It's the same with the buses.

if they raised it from 25 bt to 100 bt then the only difference is that there would be an extra 75 bt going into someones pocket. the numbers crammed onboard would still be the same

[MJP]

It seems not a day goes by when reading Thai Visa I don't seem some report of death to tourists in Thailand. Yes, I know a lot of tourists head to Thailand but it seems like taking a bus, train, boat, or even a plane in Thailand can be dangerous to your health. When I travel to Thailand I do not ever stop to think of what could happen - I should but I don't, I'm on holiday. I hopefully will change that attitude when I travel later this month. It does seem that there are far too many accidents like this incident with the ferry. It has happened before and will happen again IF the government does not do something about it. It is ultimately the government's most important responsibility to watch out for public safety. That's the single most important reason government is in business, the public welfare. It seems to be forgotten in Thailand and a lot of that has to do with corruption. Don't look for anything to get better anytime soon.

My condolences to the family's of those killed in the accident.

The government is doing something about it.

It's the government that fixes the fares so low that the ferry owners overload the vessels to make the crossings pay in the first place.

That's the core problem here. Government price fixing. It's the same with the buses.

if they raised it from 25 bt to 100 bt then the only difference is that there would be an extra 75 bt going into someones pocket. the numbers crammed onboard would still be the same

Perhaps. But price fixing has certainly helped establish the level of safety in Thailand's public transport sector.

[SteveJames]