Tata Motors MD Slym Dies After Fall From Hotel in Bangkok

[Crossy]

Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT), Indias biggest automaker, said Managing Director Karl Slym died in a fall from the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok.

More here http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-26/tata-motors-md-slym-dies-after-fall-from-hotel-in-bangkok.html

And here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10597919/Tata-Motors-boss-Karl-Slym-dies-after-hotel-balcony-fall.html


Tata Motor's Karl Slym
Agence France-Presse


File photo of Karl Slym, chief of Tata Motors' India operations and the markets of South Korea, Thailand, Spain, Indonesia and South Africa (Photo by AFP)

New Delhi: India's Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym died on Sunday after apparently falling at a hotel in Bangkok where he was attending a board meeting, a company spokeswoman and reports said.

"Tata Motors deeply regrets to announce the untimely and tragic demise of its Managing Director, Karl Slym, in Bangkok earlier today," the company said in a statement.

"Karl Slym was in Bangkok to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Thailand Ltd."

Slym, 51, died in a fall, Tata spokeswoman Minari Shah told AFP, but declined to give further details, saying a post mortem examination was likely to be conducted on Monday.

According to the Press Trust of India news agency, Slym seemed to have fallen from a high floor of the hotel building.

The Economic Times reported that he accidentally lost his balance and fell.

The Briton had been Tata's managing director since joining the country's leading automotive group in 2012. He had led Tata's operations in India and international markets, excluding the Jaguar and Land Rover businesses.

Tata chairman Cyrus P Mistry paid tribute to Slym, "a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry".

"In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl's wife and family," Mistry said in a statement.

Slym, a graduate of Stanford University, had previously been executive vice-president of SGMW Motors, China, a General Motors joint venture, and been president of General Motors in India.

Tata Motors, part of the giant steel-to-software Tata Group, reported in November its quarterly net profit surged by a surprise 71 per cent, as a stellar performance by its British luxury marque Jaguar Land Rover offset a dive in domestic sales.

The vehicle giant, which also makes the low-cost Nano hatchback, reported its consolidated second-quarter net profit climbed to Rs35.42 billion (Dh2.1 billion) from Rs20.75 billion a year earlier.


-- The Nation 2014-01-27

[Cylon]

Someone was after his job,Is that salary for real ?

[Bluespunk]

A fall?

Edit: full story now present. When I posted was only the first part of OP showing.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Bluespunk

[Crossy]

A fall?

Yup, from the 22nd floor.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/tata-motors-md-karl-slym-dies-in-bangkok-auto-major-s-restructuring-may-take-a-hit/article1-1176945.aspx

[fred007]

Rip & Tata

[NongKhaiKid]

A fall?

There's a helluva lot of these ' unfortunate accidents ' and Pattaya must hold the world record.

[draftvader]

A fall that involves a "significant" person. Wonder how this will be investigated!

[noitom]

He "fell" from the 22nd floor of the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok as reported in Bloomberg business news. Tata will be checking details and have the Thai DSI on their toes checking if he had insurance policies, cause of death..etc. The "fall" in a five star supposedly secure top hotel raises issues about safety and security in Thai five stars.

[RWB60]

A very suspicious accident happening at a 5 star hotel. Hope the police will fully investigate this matter.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

This is what balconies look like at Shangri la BKK.

Hmm

[taony]

Jeez, another fall out a hotel window.

I don't believe this was an accident. They can't all be.

Anyway would be murderer knows they in the "hub suicide by hotel room" and will suffer no consequenses whatever.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Yunla]

RIP. My prayers are with his family.

[theslime]

When drunk, these railings would be very easy to stumble over. I think the OZ standard is about 900mm, which for a tallish person is not high enough. RIP.

Edited January 27, 2014 by theslime

[RWB60]

Conclusion never rent a room with a balcony.

[englishoak]

Another one yeesh what is this, balcony accident week or something ?

Condolences to his family & RIP

[theslime]

Conclusion never rent a room with a balcony.

Unless its caged,

[virtualtraveller]

Thailand, the hub of 'falling to your death from hotel balconies'. RIP.

[EricBerg]

It's quite impossible to fall off a balcony in the Shangri-la. One has to climb a bit to do that. Did the man manage to open a window and fall out of it? So very many people fall from high floors in Bangkok. How is that possible?

My sympathy to his loved ones

[Tatsujin]

Does anyone here have the actual statistics for "falls from balconies" here in Thailand year on year? It seems to me that either:

1. ALL balconies in Thailand are inherently unsafe (which I don't believe they are from those that I have seen).
2. People get very drunk and lose their balance a lot when in Thailand, strange however that this doesn't seem to happen as much in other countries when people are drunk.
3. Some other "cause" is at play.

[CelticBhoy]

This is what balconies look like at Shangri la BKK.

Hmm

Nice pic of the usual crappy traffic going over Saphan Taksin,

think that's me third from the right.

Balcony does look easy enough to fall over, but this is the first

one I can recall at the Shangri-La so it does look a tad suspicious.

[Briggsy]

I just measured my balcony railing height. It is 82 cm. Visitors have commented about it being on the low and thus dangerous side.

[canopus1969]

A fall?

There's a helluva lot of these ' unfortunate accidents ' and Pattaya must hold the world record.

Try reading before posting - nothing to do with Pattaya

[jalansanitwong]

How many farang executives or celebrities have died in Thailand recently ? wow

I was visiting someone in a 5 star hotel near to the Shangrila on the river recently. I noticed that the windows appeared to have no latches at all .

You couldn't fall out unless someone wanted you to take a dive!

The shangrila has large balconies so how the heck do you fall off?

Was there somebody in the room when he fell? Where's the CCTV footage.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Slym was a fairly tall guy.

I am always banging into low hanging crap in Thailand.

That balcony railing height combined with a tallish person might be quite a hazard after a few drinks.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Karl+Slym&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=MrPlUuL-NcGSrgeSrYHoCw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1186&bih=744

[NongKhaiKid]

A fall?

There's a helluva lot of these ' unfortunate accidents ' and Pattaya must hold the world record.

Try reading before posting - nothing to do with Pattaya

I am well aware of that but it's part of just how many of these incidents there are.

Please don't pick me up before I fall and I don't mean from a balcony. Try something more productive than just being picky.

[Lockheed]

When drunk, these railings would be very easy to stumble over. I think the OZ standard is about 900mm, which for a tallish person is not high enough. RIP.

Conclusion never rent a room with a balcony.

May depend on the state but Vic was 1000mm.

Such good advice, whille at a hotel in Bangkok a few weeks back, the balcony wall was about 800mm, it was scary.

[worgeordie]

Not another one ! would make interesting reading to see how

many people lose their lives ,in Thailand every year ,think TAT

should put up warning signs at all International Airports.

DANGER don't go on balcony !

regards Worgeordie

[frimu]

I think, that a fair amount of these fallings are really accidents.

I'm 1.85 / 6"1' and quite often the top of the railing of balconies and other fences is below my hip / waist. So if I was too drunk and wouldn't pay attention it could also happen to me, to tip over and fall. Most in Thailand is adapted to a maximum body size of 1.70 in my opinion.

[Suradit69]

Jeez, another fall out a hotel window.

I don't believe this was an accident. They can't all be.

Anyway would be murderer knows they in the "hub suicide by hotel room" and will suffer no consequenses whatever.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

"Anyway would be murderer knows they in the "hub suicide by hotel room" and will suffer no consequenses whatever."

And once again the Thai Visa forensics experts call a board meeting, certain that their insinuations will have no consequences or relation to reality whatsoever.

[Travel Dude]

The current BCA (Australia) requirements are that a balcony balustrade have the following attributes:

The top of the railing must be least 1 metre (1000mm) from the ground.

Any opening must not allow a 125mm sphere (ie childs head) to pass through. So the vertical components must not be more than 125mm apart.

The gap between the balcony surface to the bottom rail must be no more than 100mm.

For balconies with a fall height of more than 4m there must not be any horizontal or near horizontal elements between 150mm and 760mm above the floor that facilitate climbing.