Phuket expat describes bungy accident horror

[Lite Beer]

Phuket expat describes bungy accident horror
Claire Connell

PHUKET: A Phuket expat watched as two people died last night (April 18) at a new bungy jump company in Chalong.

"I was watching from a distance as I live close by," the man told The Phuket News.

"Everyone was cheering as they went up in the lift. It got right to the top and the man was about to jump off when the lift came crashing down with the men inside of it I think."

He said there was "such a loud noise" and then a bang.

"Everyone was screaming for a long time after."

He said the company was meant to open yesterday, advertising a jump for B1700.

"The local people did try and stop this from being erected, but they couldn't stop it."

One of the dead was the company owner and the other was an engineer. A third was taken to hospital.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-expat-describes-bungy-accident-horror-45771.php

-- Phuket News 2014-04-19

[Patje]

Need to say more ?? Security first .....and then ignore it TIT !!

[yougivemebaby]

Makes you wonder. Not the first time someone died in Phuket from a similar company. Seems like a cursed tourist death trap. However we all know there are no safety standards. Maybe they should have tested their gear first before being human crash ies. RIP.

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[Finkelstein]

Makes you wonder. Not the first time someone died in Phuket from a similar company. Seems like a cursed tourist death trap. However we all know there are no safety standards. Maybe they should have tested their gear first before being human crash ies. RIP.

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Hmmm - yes well - the irony is that it was during a test, the company owner and an engineer lost their life...

[yougivemebaby]

Makes you wonder. Not the first time someone died in Phuket from a similar company. Seems like a cursed tourist death trap. However we all know there are no safety standards. Maybe they should have tested their gear first before being human crash ies. RIP.

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Hmmm - yes well - the irony is that it was during a test, the company owner and an engineer lost their life...

The purest form of irony. Normally you would test something that can easily kill you with weights or sand bags. Hope the family wasn't there to witness!

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[Greer]

Terrible news, very sad - my condolences to their relatives and friends.

A tragic event that illustrates again, the need for very much stronger enforcement of safety regulations.

[cheekychops]

Kudos to the owner for testing his own safety standards

[LivinginKata]

Terrible accident. And my respects to the deceased.

The complete lack of safety and construction standards here in Thailand is a good reason not to venture onto any of these amazing experiences.

[Valentine]

Makes you wonder. Not the first time someone died in Phuket from a similar company. Seems like a cursed tourist death trap. However we all know there are no safety standards. Maybe they should have tested their gear first before being human crash ies. RIP.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Hmmm - yes well - the irony is that it was during a test, the company owner and an engineer lost their life...

The purest form of irony. Normally you would test something that can easily kill you with weights or sand bags. Hope the family wasn't there to witness!

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Even testing it that way, which is most likely what they did before the human test, they would still need to be up in the cage to push it off. From reading the report it was the collapse of the crane which caused the deaths. I wonder if it was the same company as the one in Kathu.

[grumpyoldman]

Saw the same thing in Patong about 12 years ago. Lucky enough the person's head just barely konked on the ground, and then they shut the thing down.

[Lite Beer]

Bungee jump operator and mechanic die during safety test

PHUKET: -- A cable-car bungee jump operator and mechanic were killed and and an assistant injured when the sling of the car broke and fell to the ground in Phuket on Friday night.

Chalong district police said the cable car bungee jump service at the Kuan-oo Chinese shrine was to open service to visitors and tourists at weekend and the accident happened as the operator and mechanic were testing the safety of the bungy jump service.

The operator Pitakchai Wong-sopha and mechanic Tosaporn Sukree were advised by the cable car supervisor, Anupong Guntawong, to have the final test of the service together.

As the cable car was ascending to the height of 50 meters limit for the jump, it didn’t stop.
The car was pulled up further and crashed the top of the crane, causing its cord to break.

The car then plunged 50 meters to the ground killing Pitakchai and Tosaporn, and injuring Anupong.

Police said it was not immediately known it was the error of the supervisor or the car switch which did not function after the car rose over the suspension height.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bungee-jump-operator-mechanic-die-safety-test/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bungee-jump-operator-mechanic-die-safety-test

-- Thai PBS 2014-04-19

[Lite Beer]

Two dead in Phuket bungy jumping accident
Phuket Gazette -

Anupong Kantawong survived the incident by jumping from the lift into the water below. He is currently in the ICU at Vachira Hospital. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: Two men died and one was seriously injured in a Phuket bungy-jump test last night after the lift they were on crashed to the ground.

The owner, Tossaporn Suksri, 27, and his mechanic Pitakchai Wongsricha, 30, were waiting in the lift for their turn to test the jump when a malfunction caused the platform they were standing on to free fall from 52 meters, explained Capt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Chalong Police.

“Mr Tossaporn and Mr Pitakchai were unable to get over the rail in time to jump into the water below,” said Capt Kraisorn.

Anupong Kantawong, 37, had jumped before the malfunction. However, the bungy cord attached to his feet was anchored to the bottom of the lift. He was seriously injured after slamming into the water.

Mr Anupong was rushed from the site, near Soi Guan Yu shrine in Chalong, to Vachira Phuket Hospital.

“We believe something inside the lifting drum broke,” said Capt Kraisorn.

“We will question Mr Anupong as soon as possible."

Mr Anupong is in the Intensive Care Unit, a Vachira Hospital nurse told the Phuket Gazette this morning.

The bungy jump was set to open to the general public sometime this month, after it was established that it was safe.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Two-dead-Phuket-bungy-jumping-accident/29187

-- Phuket Gazette 2014-04-19

[yougivemebaby]

Sounds like a mess. Hopefully these gentlemen will serve as a reminder to all of us to double and triple check everything. No Mai bpen rai. Check gone check check.

Another twist is the guy jumping off the crane was saved. What a lucky fool. Could have gone much worse for him. Prayers for everyone involved.

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[MMarlow]

Sounds like a mess. Hopefully these gentlemen will serve as a reminder to all of us to double and triple check everything. No Mai bpen rai. Check gone check check.

Another twist is the guy jumping off the crane was saved. What a lucky fool. Could have gone much worse for him. Prayers for everyone involved.

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"What a lucky fool."

Why was he a fool?

[A1Str8]

R.i.p.

But I don't understand why people always need to scream. Did it help???

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[KarenBravo]

It's quite obvious what happened. The limit switch didn't work.

[LivinginKata]

Insensitive posts and the replies - removed.

[stevenl]

I really don't understand how people can thing any of these kind of attractions are safe here. I would trust that in the western world, but out of that region, no. Anywhere in South America, Africa, Asia with exception of Japan, HK, Singapore, Taiwan and probably South Korea, Eastern Europe, no way.

[Somtamnication]

I confew. Was the test successful?

[Lupatria]

Statistically it's safer than travelling in a bus overhere

[Thai at Heart]

Oh dear oh dear.

Crazy crazy stuff

[samjaidee]

I really don't understand how people can thing any of these kind of attractions are safe here. I would trust that in the western world, but out of that region, no. Anywhere in South America, Africa, Asia with exception of Japan, HK, Singapore, Taiwan and probably South Korea, Eastern Europe, no way.

I have a friend who owns one in Pattaya. It's been running for 25 years without a serious accident.

Some non-Thais do maintain the same standards over here that they would back in the west.

[stevenl]

I really don't understand how people can thing any of these kind of attractions are safe here. I would trust that in the western world, but out of that region, no. Anywhere in South America, Africa, Asia with exception of Japan, HK, Singapore, Taiwan and probably South Korea, Eastern Europe, no way.

I have a friend who owns one in Pattaya. It's been running for 25 years without a serious accident.

Some non-Thais do maintain the same standards over here that they would back in the west.

Good for you. I drive my motorbike daily here and have not had an accident, but that does not mean it won't happen. As I said, I do not trust these kind of attractions here, and the same goes for many, many countries.

[DLP]

A not so good advertisment for bungy jump.

[Joe Bloggs]

Terrible accident. And my respects to the deceased.

The complete lack of safety and construction standards here in Thailand is a good reason not to venture onto any of these amazing experiences.

There have been accidents elsewhere with this type of equipment, even in the UK. One fatal accident on a fairground ride was the result of using the wrong bolts. Allegedly common low-tensile bolts had been used instead of high-tensile machine bolts which had been lost. OK one doesn't expect the workers to have a degree in engineering but it doesn't much education to look for the "8.8" or "10.9" which is stamped on the heads of machine bolts.

The low tensile bolts are perfectly adequate for bolting timber structures together but they are not intended for use in machinery as their strength is only about one third of that of an "8.8" bolt of the same size.

As to the lift it would appear that the winch kept on pulling and snapped the belt. A correctly set limit switch would have prevented this. Correctly sized fuses or an over-current trip would have also stopped the motor.

I've seen similar errors made before. One gross error was the work done on a three ton capacity lifting platform that was like a tail lift on a lorry. The platform used to stop about three or four inches higher than was desired. The bloke in charge ordered the guide channels of the machine to be drilled and stop bolts fitted. The result was that the table used to tilt at the end of its travel. This catapulted an item that was on wheels into the stores where it knocked down a row of shelves! Ironically the firm employed about a hundred engineers and technicians who would have known how to re-adjust the micro-switches but they were never asked. (The lift was the prerogative of the "bricks and windows department" and not the electronics section) The machine was covered with a tarpaulin and was left unused for three years after which it was sold for scrap! This fiasco occurred in London in the 1970s and I still find it incredible that a foreman could be so thick. Unfortunately similar gaffes keep on occurring all the time. Take care!

[papa al]

Cranes are very dangerous tools.

I've seen many fatal and near-miss crane accidents over the years.

Dodged the bullet myself once.

[JesseFrank]

Need to say more ?? Security first .....and then ignore it TIT !!

No, no need to say more.

"The local people did try and stop this from being erected, but they couldn't stop it."

[Soupdragon]

So what time is it open tomorrow. It's been pre-disastered so it must be safe now.

[DLP]

So what time is it open tomorrow. It's been pre-disastered so it must be safe now.

At 1700bt a jump i won"t be going.

[brfsa2]

Safety is hardly anything important in Thailand when it comes to money...

I see over and over again in so many Condos, Apartments and Office lifts, including where I live and where I work, after the Maintenance expire date is passed, they just remove the document from the lift until 6 months to 1 year later they come for maintenance.

incredible thailand...