Local boats ignore teens and leave them to drown in Chao Phraya River

[yourauntbob]

i saw more than 2 boats.

very sad. some might say that they didnt know, but the boy that survived was obviously trying to get their attention. in the shadows of the water at the end you could see more than the camera man watching what was happening.

i grieve for humanity

[SavageNZ]

Good points raised pkspeaker. I've not seen the video.

[brit1984]

given the noise and general chaos (and natural movement of the water on the river), i'm not surprised those on the boat didn't realize what was going on... those who took the photo obviously did (or they wouldn't have taken the photo) but seemingly did nothing... although not sure what they could have done other than dive in themselves, which would have been suicide if they are not strong swimmers (most thais can't even swim)... i am a strong swimmer and still don't know if i would have risked my life in the same situation

[godden]

Next time a Thai tells me Thai have good heart, i'm going to say piss on your kharma

[ggt]

Why...am I not surprised?

[godden]

given the noise and general chaos (and natural movement of the water on the river), i'm not surprised those on the boat didn't realize what was going on... those who took the photo obviously did (or they wouldn't have taken the photo) but seemingly did nothing... although not sure what they could have done other than dive in themselves, which would have been suicide if they are not strong swimmers (most thais can't even swim)... i am a strong swimmer and still don't know if i would have risked my life in the same situation

What dribble i hope you choke on your net glass of water

[Sojuncoke]

in all fairness the shore was only 3 meters away from them and the boats may have thought they were not in serious danger.

[yourauntbob]

as others have said, its not just in Thailand

http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/22/incredible-moment-a-pensioner-is-hit-by-a-train-on-a-level-crossing-and-survives-4705418/

[SunsetT]

Maybe there are so many kids swimming, jumping off bridges and acting up in the klongs in Thailand maybe, just maybe, the boats guys thought it was all a game?

This could be true as if u watch and listen carefully to the clip. The boy swimming out stops and shouts twice, maybe for help, but he's a long way from the boats with their noisy engines. U would think they would all scream shout and wave as the boats pass, but they appear not to.

Several 'Thai' factors at play here I think:

1) A total lack of observation by the boatmen .........Try to catch the eye of a waiter or waitress in most Thai restaurants.

2) A total lack of initiative and common sense thinking on the part of the kids to do more to attract the boats' attention, and also of those filming and watching from the bank to do something........because Thai education is totally passive so Thais instinctively dont do anything unless told to.

3) A total lack of care or emotion by boatmen and spectators as defined by Thai culture. Even the boy returning to the bank is not crying or screaming for help.

Tragic!

I am not religious but the more time I spend in Thailand the more I realise how we take for granted how Christian values of love, care, and unselfish service for others unconsciously influence our culture and our everyday thinking and behaviour in the West. E.g: Some claim Thais dont feel guilt so therefore dont have a conscience. So a 'Conscience' is maybe a Christian concept we have inherited genetically -not a gene but a 'meme', which still strongly influences us even when we cease to be 'Christians'. Thais are in contrast inherently selfish as the original Thai Theravada Buddhism was rejected as selfish by most Buddhists in the World in favour of Mahayana Buddhism. Lets face it, In essence the Buddha taught individual's to selfishly renounce all their parental, family, and social and economic responsibilities to become a monk and selfishly seek 'Nirvana' (escape from rebirth) for themselves and themselves alone. There seems to only be a general teaching of 'compassion' with little emphasis of helping others or putting others before oneself as in Christianity; e.g., The Good Samaritan. I think Buddhism is in essence a cerebral religion, training the mind to coldly overpower instincts and emotions. It lacks the great Love of Hinduism from which it sprang.

I'm afraid that I do not like Thai Culture.

[rojack45]

This is messed up I'd like to boot the filmer in in the teeth a few times then upload that. I think even a cold hearted Russian would have thrown a rope or something that floats out help

Before everyone starts trashing the person taking the video, perhaps they were a non-swimmer or elderly or something that prevented action. There are many many people who can not swim for many reasons. You can see the water is moving pretty fast and also, one would assume the boats would stop and lend a hand. One boat passed within about 2 meters it looks like. The boat operators are the negligent ones and should be dealt with.

[bobonzo]

reading these posters makes me think this kind of thing doesn't happen anywhere else except Thailand.

[Marcel1]

This can happen in any country? yes true these stories pop up so niw and then all over the world.

the boat people not hearing them? Bs

the man who films not knowing what is happening? Bs, otherwise he wouldnt be filming eh....

I crossed the river in the late afternoon at this place, it was business as usual, no one cares.

Also I am pretty sure who filmed this but no one is helped by false acusations. Watching these boats many times and at this point they stop giving throtthle or turned the engine off already to savely land where they want to arrive. It is an old lady and an old men on these boats and I surely blame them for this!! also the maker of the movie should be procecuted, as he is who I think he is, he can swim pretty good and has everything to help these guys out of trouble.

I saw these boys swimming every day in the river since school holidays started. over the past days the current is very strong at times...

[gtm2k]

So, the boats did nothing, and the person filming did nothing. Great to see we are living in such a caring society now. Sad.

in hindsight, ive realised over the years that thai's in general quickly assume + conclude about situations unfolding in front of their eyes ... they dont really (even in their thought process) try to investigate - if whats going on is really what it is ! (notice how the politics works in LOS as well...)

they (the boats) perhaps simply assumed that the boys are playing in the water / messing around with each other - and simply did not bother to find out what was really going on !

But what really amazes me, is that the river bank seems to be only a few feet away (10-20 feet on the left hand) - but it was perhaps already a struggle for them to keep breathing !

the guy with the camera is another idiot i have to say, he could have taken the boat next to the pier on which he was standing to at least go and attempt a rescue - but he did nothing at all !

Another sad loss of life in LOS !

[fonsboy]

There is a chance that the boat operators were not aware of the difficulties the swimmers were in, especially considering the noise of their engines.

Judging by the shadow in the very last frame, the person taking the video had companions who also ignored the boys' plight. How could they appear to be so laid back under the circumstances? I'm wondering if this is some kind of hoax. Have the bodies of the drowned boys been recovered? As the survivor swam to the shore, the head of one of the other swimmers reappears quite a distance from where he went down and then disappears again, towards the top of the frame. The camera then remains focused on the survivor. Is it possible that the others swam to safety out of viewA

Anything is possible with facebook , I hate it & the way it is being forced down everyone`s throat . If it is not a hoax may god bless those two young men . and commiserations to the families & friends .

[RedQualia]

Pretty sad......The Thai apologists will have a hard time spinning this one... How in god's name

could a boat drive past a drowning person ??

In fairness, did the boats know they were drowning? Did the boats even realize the people were there?

I am not trying to excuse wrongful behaviour, but know one knows what really happened.

I'm a divemaster. Likely, then, I know my way around water pretty well. I know, for example, that a panicked, drowning person is pretty much 100% guaranteed to try to rip the regulator from my mouth (assuming I have an air tank on), put it in their mouth, and fight to watch me die. And so I know that there is a right way and a wrong way to hold onto people who are drowning.

But others may not know the water so well. We do not know, for example, that anyone in the boats, nor the person holding the camera, knows how to swim well enough to risk rescuing those who are clearly having a hard time with strong currents. It is entirely possible that they don't know how to swim at all, or might be old and feeble. It is also the case that the small boat in the center of the photo would be easily capsized by even one panicked and drowning person wanting to get in, let alone two. I can't say about the other boat, but it doesn't look to be too big.

To be honest, even as a divemaster, trained in rescue, I'm not at all sure I would jump into a strong current in a freshwater river, wearing only clothes to weigh me down and no fins, mask or anything else, to try and save not one, but two people who are almost guaranteed to try to fight to climb on top of me to save themselves.

Condolences to the family, and may the deceased rest in peace.

[Strangebrew]

To the boaters I hope your boat doesn't sink with you in it your might be tossed an anchor instead of life preserver. Karma will follow for this one..

[RedQualia]

I know my Thai wife was never taught to swim and I doubt the majority of Thais could be considered as strong swimmers. Most that I see at the beach just flap around in the shallows. Diving into a river with a current and then dragging another person to safety requires a sound swimming technique and strength. I can only think that the onlookers would have met the certain same fate had they gone to help. I do have an issue with someone who films the whole incident rather than making a whole-hearted effort to raise an alarm or find some kind of floating object that could assist. I don't believe the people in the boats knew what was happening.

I have met very, very few Thais who know how to swim at all, let alone well. My wife knows how, but that's because I taught her. When she was 40 years old.

[oneday]

In fairness, did the boats know they were drowning? Did the boats even realize the people were there?

I am not trying to excuse wrongful behaviour, but know one knows what really happened.

Yeah, right! That last boy to jump in was looking right at the boat drivers and pleading with them to help.

Edited April 23, 2014 by oneday

[Cricketnut]

Shame Thailand Shame....

[tingtongdingdong]

I think in any other country in the world if somebody saw children in need of help they would instantly offer assistance,

you sure?

China is not quite fair play as a reference for comparison purposes......

yeah that was below the belt don't you know chinese dont count because Chinese have no soul.

[sirchai]

What a sad and tragic story. I hope they rest in peace in Nirvana.

Reminds me of a Thai girl I took to Ko Samet about 20 years ago. She almost drowned, I tried to help her and almost died as well.

Took me about an hour to rescue her. Four people did at the same beach on the next day, the Wong Duan, as they were trying to rescue a girl, but the three rescuers also drowned.

I was so close to knock her out, as she almost had me under the water. I hope they didn't really see the boys' serious problem. If they did, I hope they'll be reborn as cockroaches and come into my house.

Life's sometimes very sad. Can't even imagine how the relatives now feel. Oh god..... ( And I'm Atheist)

Edited April 23, 2014 by sirchai

[RBOP]

Almost 1 year ago (10 April 2013) a woman was drowning in the Chao Praya River but was saved by a courageous Thai man who almost drowned himself. She actually saved him back.

[tingtongdingdong]

So, the boats did nothing, and the person filming did nothing. Great to see we are living in such a caring society now. Sad.

You just don't understand Thainess because you are not Thai.

I know you are joking, but if that is indeed "Thainess" in action, then it's nothing to be proud of.

Where's the basic humanity ... the helping a fellow human in their time of dire need ... or does it cost too much now?

It has been explained as fundamental in the Buddhist philosophy that when you interfere in the course of events unfolding before your eyes you then assume full responsibility for any outcome.

pffffftttttt are you serious mate...... your blaming it on Buddhist philosophy. how about forget religion and help the person next to you.

[Showbags]

Thats pretty amazing footage.

A number of people on the dock...all doing nothing....boats in the dock also.

Spread the love Thailand.

If only the kids had swam sideways to the shore....same same rips...dont fight it.

[alocacoc]

Locals save foreigner from drowning.

Just found this video.... happens on a ferry to Koh Larn,

I guess, tomorrow we will read the news....

[Alwyn]

Times like this I really want to believe in Karma.. Maybe the boat owners didn't see them or thought they were playing but what about the scumbag filming it?

[kurtgruen]

Our condolences to the families of those teenagers. Very sad indeed!

Our restaurant is right across the street from a major intersection and we see people on motorcycles getting hit all the time and the local Thai people always come running to help.

I remember having trouble with my petcock on the Harley and ran out of fuel. A Thai man on his old motorbike stopped, ask if we needed help, went about 10 miles to buy some gas and brought it back for us and then refused to take a cent from us, when we wanted to give him a bit of money, for his gas and for helping us out. I Forget where that was, but not even in our own town...somewhere in Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai Province.

So not all Thai people are the same and not all people in the World are the same. There are good people and selfish people everywhere in the World.

[Docno]

Shocking would be an understatement. However, depending on the circumstances this sort of thing may not be that rare, even in our home countries. Here's an account of a famous incident in NYC in which a young woman, Kitty Genovese, was attacked over a period of 30 minutes - her screams were heard by numerous people but no-one came to her aid and it's not clear that any calls were made to police until quite late: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese The British among us will remember the Jamie Bulger case where a small boy was kidnapped by two older boys and taken (sometimes dragged and hit) to a railway yard to be brutally murdered (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Bulger). Almost 40 people witnessed them on the 2+ km trek (some seeing the boy kicked and punched) but no-one took an real action.

This sort of thing has come to be known as the 'Genovese Effect' or 'Bystander Effect' and is due to several factors such as the ambiguity of the situation (people aren't sure what's really happening) and diffusion of responsibility ("I'm sure someone else more capable is already taking care of it"). There's also the related idea of 'social proof': if no one else moves to act, we are less likely to do so also... we look to others to help determine what's going on and what needs to be done.

Psychologists have done a lot of experiments on US samples and find the same sort of thing. My favourite is where seminary students were rushing to another campus building to give a talk when they passed a man (really an actor) who appeared to be in physical distress, perhaps having a heart attack. If I recall, only about 10 percent stopped to help. The talk they had been assigned to give concerned the parable of the Good Samaritan!

Based on research on this phenomenon, psychologist Robert Cialdini suggests that if you ever find yourself in need of help from passersby, you should target a specific individual ("hey, you in the hat!"), indicate your specific problem ("I think I may be having a heart attack"), and specify what needs to be done ("please come here and call an ambulance for me"). Apparently, your odds are much better than simply crying out 'help' to the masses...

[Showbags]

Times like this I really want to believe in Karma.. Maybe the boat owners didn't see them or thought they were playing but what about the scumbag filming it?

You could understand if he/she could not swim.

But, there is nothing heard on the vid as far as said person yelling for help, even to the boats in dock to go help....very poor form from all.

But...the young lad can be proud of his actions to try to save his friends.

[tutone]

I'm not condoning what seems to be a lack on concern by passing boats and observers, but those boys probably were not very good swimmers. The one boy who swam out and back seemed to have no problems.