webfact Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Controversial Beach Booms claim their first life on Jomtien BeachPATTAYA: -- Following previous reports of people sustaining injury after falling off beach booms on Pattaya and Jomtien Beaches, they have now claimed their first life and residents of Pattaya are now calling for their immediate removal before the booms claim further victims.On Tuesday evening Khun Chontawat aged 19 was pulled from the water off Jomtien Beach in front of Soi 8, after a 3 hour search by more than 20 Pattaya Sea Rescue Officers.He was in Pattaya with 10 other family members and was celebrating his recent graduation from High School and he was due to start University in a few weeks’ time.Khun Chontawat had joined his family on Jomtien Beach and decided to walk along a Beach Boom which is used to section-off a swimmers-only area. Large waves caused Khun Chontawat to fall off the boom, in front of an 18 year old cousin who was with him on the boom.Full story: http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/123657/controversial-beach-booms-claim-their-first-life-on-jomtien-beach/ -- Pattaya One 2014-04-02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ZigZagMan Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 Attention: People that cannot swim should not be walking on the booms into deep water. They may fall off and drown. 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post shirtless Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 They have probably saved hundreds of swimmers from being hit by Jet skies and motor boats. I fail to see why these booms should be blamed for this death. 40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post LennyW Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 Death by misadventure i would say, but why did it take 3 hours to find him if he "fell off in front of his cousin"? in broad daylight. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hanno Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 I was in Pattaya last week and saw people running and frolicking on these things. It is wrong to say that the booms claimed a life, if a non-swimmer falls off say a wharf and drowns, who is at fault. Personally, I do not swim in Pattaya but if I did, I would be pretty happy to have something that keeps the idiot jet-skiers and power boat drivers away. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post petedk Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 Instead of removing them, why not change the design? Use small round balls that people cannot walk on. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Spalpeen Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 What a sensationalist headline. Who are these "residents of Pattaya" that are "now calling for" the removal of the booms? Everyone I know thinks they are a great thing and that they physically prevent the jetskis from entering the swimming area. Sad that the young lad died, but if he couldn't swim he should have stuck to the shallow water. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post andre47 Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 The beach booms are very helpful to protect against the jet skies. Small round balls would not keep them off the swimming zone. They would just drive over them.Why Thais don't learn swimming (and many other subjects as well) in school? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokheat Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 i would hate to be the family member who suggested/organised the celebration, imagine the guilt they would be feeling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post stickylies Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 Not the fault of the guy on the boom who could not swim Nah, fault of the boom. Bad boom! Boom maidee! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post retell Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 Dont walk on the booms , If someone climbs a tree and falls to his death all trees should be removed immidiatly Rip 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JoeThePoster Posted April 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) What's the next headline? Geezer falls of cliff - locals call for flattening all mountains. Edited April 2, 2014 by JoeThePoster 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 They have probably saved hundreds of swimmers from being hit by Jet skies and motor boats. I fail to see why these booms should be blamed for this death. They need not be flat/ rectangular. Cylindrical and small enough to make walking impossible would be better. 'Hundreds' were not being hit by jetskis and motor boats prior to the installation of these booms. The design was ill conceived. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence1366 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Instead of removing them, why not change the design? Use small round balls that people cannot walk on. No brainer solution. ?..perhaps 'cost' is the mitigating factor that made them use foam instead of 'balls'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorG Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Why do they call it "common sense", when it is not so common after all? You cannot idiot-proof the world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i claudius Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The are a great idea ,they keep swimmers safe and while i feel sorry for this young guy and his familly ,if you cannot swim ,you have to be pretty stupid to go walking on these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZigZagMan Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Why not separate the booms with lengths of rope? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseFrank Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Instead of removing them, why not change the design? Use small round balls that people cannot walk on. No brainer solution. ?..perhaps 'cost' is the mitigating factor that made them use foam instead of 'balls'. They could have used foam balls, don't you think ? The point is that one is not supposed to walk on them. In related news : It is suggested that all balconies and bridges in Pattaya will be removed, as there have been several cases of people falling off them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasRanger Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I was watching a group of older kids/teenagers walk and run around these a few days ago. My first thought was that they end up so far from the beach I could never get to one in time if they got into trouble. The real crime here is people being unable to swim, if you can't swim you need to wear flotation. A lifeguard on each swimming area would also be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMarlow Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Attention: People that cannot swim should not be walking on the booms into deep water. They may fall off and drown. Nobody should be walking on the booms into deep water. Swimmers or non-swimmers can drown, how do you know he wasn't able to swim? Panic, deep water and wearing clothes can make staying afloat very difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey4u Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I guess all his time in school didn't teach him not to do dumb things The booms are there to protect swimmers not to be used as a walk way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanno Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I guess all his time in school didn't teach him not to do dumb things The booms are there to protect swimmers not to be used as a walk way In all fairness I saw more foreigners walking them than locals. And whilst they may be able to swim, I saw one group that was so wasted they would have gone down like lead ducks if they had fallen in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maroon Watcher Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 ... so theres no life guard system on that busy beach? That's what they are trained to look for... What a sensationalist headline. Who are these "residents of Pattaya" that are "now calling for" the removal of the booms? Everyone I know thinks they are a great thing and that they physically prevent the jetskis from entering the swimming area. Sad that the young lad died, but if he couldn't swim he should have stuck to the shallow water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisinth Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The booms are more of a visual deterrent than a physical one. I expect their design would be to give a swimmer in distress a landing area, but if people are allowed to 'play' on them, then a change in design would be best as restricting access from swimmers would be extremely difficult. To blame the concept of the barriers, IMHO, is out of order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentham Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I mean no disrespect for the departed. However one is more likely to die of poisoning than drowning by falling into the water along that part of the Thai coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostmebike Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Instead of removing them, why not change the design? Use small round balls that people cannot walk on. Agreed. Some posters can't seem to understand that most kids love to play in the water whether they can swim or not. A simple change of design could prevent further loss of life. Sad story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
media Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I saw a bunch of kids and teenagers enjoying the "Boom Walk" the other day it looked like good fun at the beach.. at the time I didnt realise they could be dangerous, But YES if the person cant swim he shouldnt be doing it! - The boom looked like it was superbly protecting the swimmers from jet ski etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joepattaya1961 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I can't find any information on how he drowned........everybody is assuming that the lad couldn't swim, but what if he fell off and during his fall smashed with his head to the barriers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZigZagMan Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I just drove by the beach. More than 50 people running around on the barriers where this incident took place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awohalitsiktoli Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I was apparently there when it happened, sitting in a beach chair right in front of the beach boom, but I did not see it happen. I do not know whether he could swim or not, but if he could not swim, he should not have been out there. Blaming the beach boom device is a mistake, IMHO. It is obvious that the City does not want people walking on it, which is why they removed several segments to make it difficult for people to go from one section to the next. But that has not stopped people from walking the short segment, then wading to the next, long segment. Enforcement might be one solution, but common sense (don't go out there if you cannot swim) is likely a better solution. There were loads of people on the beach when it happened. A Thai lady told me that "a friend of the deceased saw him in the water but thought he was playing a joke." By that, I am assuming that they thought he was pretending to be drowning. Then he went under and never came up. The search for him was intense. One has to wonder if a lifeguard on duty would have made any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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