Four women slip to their death at Kanchanaburi waterfall

[joshstiles]

The waterfalls are not dangerous at all....it's just that people are <deleted> stupid....

[ClutchClark]

These waterfalls are very lovely but dangerous places, where some people will stand to take photos amazes me. Is it worth seriously injuring or killing yourself for the sake of a photograph??? I don't think so ..!

Kanchanaburi water fall...is this Erawan...Visited April 22nd this year and seen no one wearing life jackets, lots of Thai's and Russians there. Very nice and clean as one had to put a deposit on any plastic bottles on entry to falls, as for me I had water bottles in backpack out of sight. It is hard to believe that anyone could drown at these falls as many people as well as myself could easy save a life if someone had a swimming problem, now not sure if this posting is regarding Erawan falls...could be more specific about Kanchanaburi waterfalls...many national parks on route...enjoyed the travel with my new Honda Forza and Thai lady to help navigate the journey.

You are bragging that you intentionally cheated from paying a few Thai Baht deposit on some plastic water bottles? What a ridiculous thing to do.

These poor women, what a senseless and preventable tragedy. So sad for them.

[ClutchClark]

"Chalermpol said the women were still holding hands"

Anyone who can read this and not get choked up is inhuman.

Then consider this an alien point of view because, in the face of drowning, the elements have all the help they need without giving them the added advantage of not having your hands free.

Yes, I too rather discount the likelihood of the victims still holding hands when they were found - the automatic reaction of most people in that situation would be to get your hands free and try to swim / escape the danger.

Patrick

often a drowning person will try to take the rescuer down with them. this is why lifeguards are taught how to prevent this. is it possible they held on so tighly to each other as as a frantic attempt to do this very thing? i question if their hands would remain together after death though?

And as a small comfort to the parents of these drowned girls, why not let their last memories of their daughters be filled with a little warmth and compassion? With a simple thought that can help to comfort them?

Instead you have to continue playing the absolutely inane TV past time of nitpicking the details of every story while completely missing the fact four young women have died and loved ones are suffering.

[vogie]

"Chalermpol said the women were still holding hands"

Anyone who can read this and not get choked up is inhuman.

Your right, at first when read it I was also chocked, but meanwhile thinking on how a life jacket can get out if you hold someones hand.

My opinion, they did not wear life jacket, the floating jackets where thrown in the water to clear the guard .......

Perhaps they were holding on to each other in desperation after the strong currents had pulled the lifejackets off. Is there any need for you to be so cynical in such tragic circumstances? I think if they were not wearing lifejackets and the "guard" had just thrown them into the water their friends would have commented on it.

Yes I agree with you, its just a case of the conspiracy brigade at large, why do we need Sherlock Holmes when we have people that can solve a case without knowing nothing about it?

[winstonc]

"Chalermpol said the women were still holding hands"

Anyone who can read this and not get choked up is inhuman.

Your right, at first when read it I was also chocked, but meanwhile thinking on how a life jacket can get out if you hold someones hand.

My opinion, they did not wear life jacket, the floating jackets where thrown in the water to clear the guard .......

Perhaps they were holding on to each other in desperation after the strong currents had pulled the lifejackets off. Is there any need for you to be so cynical in such tragic circumstances? I think if they were not wearing lifejackets and the "guard" had just thrown them into the water their friends would have commented on it.

what admit responsibility ..not in thailamd..

[phanangpete]

This is tragic, but as others have said , they probably coul'nt swim and had no knowledge of wearing a life jacket properly.

We can count out thai parents giving lessons to their children, do they have public swimming pools , doubt many.

Schools have an obligation to do something , educate them at an early stage about the risks, would they listen. ?

More statements from officials saying people should be more careful, what a farce !

RIP.

[ebonykap]

Four young daughters whom their mothers will never see again

Possibly four young mothers who will never see their children or husbands again

Very Tragic....very sad, my condolences to their families

[american12bthai]

These waterfalls are very lovely but dangerous places, where some people will stand to take photos amazes me. Is it worth seriously injuring or killing yourself for the sake of a photograph??? I don't think so ..!

have you seen the internet.? a selfie is more important than safety. my friend says, NEVER TRUST someone who takes alot of selfies. they are only interseted in themselves... anything in the background is just secondary.

[atyclb]

ClutchClark wrote

And as a small comfort to the parents of these drowned girls, why not let their last memories of their daughters be filled with a little warmth and compassion? With a simple thought that can help to comfort them?

Instead you have to continue playing the absolutely inane TV past time of nitpicking the details of every story while completely missing the fact four young women have died and loved ones are suffering.

I understand and agree it is a great tragedy for the victims and their loved ones. My heart goes out to them.

If they were my family members i would wonder about the same issues and question and inquire in the same manner. That is IMO a very reasonable thing to do. I think many a reasonable family member would do the very same. Free floating life-jackets and hands together speak volumes. although they say the dead cannot speak, often they can via forensic and / or scientific evaluation. If it were my loved one I'd sure want to know why the vests were not properly secured by the supervising park officials.

People think, thats why they have brains.

sorry for disjointed reply but system would not let me quote all the prior lines.

[geoman1976]

my heart goes out to their families. i love this place, too. i go there to get away sometimes. Anytime you are in these waters..or even nearr them, be safe. This is Karst terrain shich means it has many caves. Very similar to where I am from. The river I lived on was called the "river of death" by the indians because you could be walking in ankle deep water and fall through a sedimnet clogged opening that leads into an underwater cave. It happens a lot. So, my advice is, even if you are in shallow calm water, make sure your life vest is properly worn and secured to your body. I just don't want to see this tregdy repeated.

[Gonsalviz]

These waterfalls are very lovely but dangerous places, where some people will stand to take photos amazes me. Is it worth seriously injuring or killing yourself for the sake of a photograph??? I don't think so ..!

Not too bright people fall into the Grand Canyon too. You have to keep your wits about you.

[tonglen]

"Chalermpol said the women were still holding hands"

Anyone who can read this and not get choked up is inhuman.

I was thinking similarly.

It sounds like its out of a "B" movie - but its reality. Very sad.

I hope there wont be some <deleted> that criticizes it.

[belg]

as all those natural parks are 10x the fee for farang,i avoid for meself & family

[GaryB1263]

What a shame. Four young people gone because of one mistake. Sad.

[edwinchester]

as all those natural parks are 10x the fee for farang,i avoid for meself & family

Get a Thai driving licence and pay the Thai rate....simple.

[ClutchClark]

ClutchClark wrote

And as a small comfort to the parents of these drowned girls, why not let their last memories of their daughters be filled with a little warmth and compassion? With a simple thought that can help to comfort them?

Instead you have to continue playing the absolutely inane TV past time of nitpicking the details of every story while completely missing the fact four young women have died and loved ones are suffering.

I understand and agree it is a great tragedy for the victims and their loved ones. My heart goes out to them.

If they were my family members i would wonder about the same issues and question and inquire in the same manner. That is IMO a very reasonable thing to do. I think many a reasonable family member would do the very same. Free floating life-jackets and hands together speak volumes. although they say the dead cannot speak, often they can via forensic and / or scientific evaluation. If it were my loved one I'd sure want to know why the vests were not properly secured by the supervising park officials.

People think, thats why they have brains.

sorry for disjointed reply but system would not let me quote all the prior lines.

Excuse me but you are implying that the Park rangers and the Park are somehow liable for this and you can receive some compensation for this? You are American?

Four young women have passed. They are not your daughters. Your posts certainly have the appearance of being those TV Sherlock Holmes posts that make two presumptions. The first is that the Thai have done something conspiratorial and dishonest and the second is that you are going to solve the riddle for the benefit of...I guess your bored ego.

[robinc]

A few years back, here in Canada, a girl climbed over the railing at Niagara Falls to get better pictures and slipped to her death. We all think that only other people take foolish chances but I wonder how many times we've all taken risks for in some meaningless pursuit like a good photo opportunity.

[Tokay]

Tragic.Tragic.Tragic.

However, the report is nonsense. They did not die holding hands under water, and they did not have on life jackets. I'm a life guard / swim instructor (30 years) and can tell you first hand that NO ONE drowns holding hands with someone else. That is a story told to ease the pain. End of story. They may have fought to get on top of the other person and in turn drowned themselves and the person they pushed under to get some air, but holding hands as you drown is straight nonsense. People fight for air when they are drowning, they panic, and will push anyone under them in the process. Life jackets do not come off if they are put on properly. Period. And according to the BS report, if they were holding hands (nonsense) it would be physically impossible for the jackets to come off. I question if they had them to begin with, as I've been there twice and never saw anyone wearing them.

Back to the hand holding nonsese...

Rigor mortis usually takes 3 - 4 hours to start (with maximum stiffness around 12 hours) and that is the ONLY way anyone would be holding onto anything after death. That is just how it works, even in Thailand, even with Thai people. So in the first time ever freak event these girls held hands as they drowned, did it take 12+ hours to pull them out of the water? Because that's how long it would have taken to tighten their grip firm enough to still be holding hands.

The reality is, 4 women tragically died and they all fought for their life until they swallowed their last gulp of water or smashed their head on a rock, rendering them unconscious.

Rest in peace ladies.

[atyclb]

ClutchClark wrote

And as a small comfort to the parents of these drowned girls, why not let their last memories of their daughters be filled with a little warmth and compassion? With a simple thought that can help to comfort them?

Instead you have to continue playing the absolutely inane TV past time of nitpicking the details of every story while completely missing the fact four young women have died and loved ones are suffering.

I understand and agree it is a great tragedy for the victims and their loved ones. My heart goes out to them.

If they were my family members i would wonder about the same issues and question and inquire in the same manner. That is IMO a very reasonable thing to do. I think many a reasonable family member would do the very same. Free floating life-jackets and hands together speak volumes. although they say the dead cannot speak, often they can via forensic and / or scientific evaluation. If it were my loved one I'd sure want to know why the vests were not properly secured by the supervising park officials.

People think, thats why they have brains.

sorry for disjointed reply but system would not let me quote all the prior lines.

Excuse me but you are implying that the Park rangers and the Park are somehow liable for this and you can receive some compensation for this? You are American?

Four young women have passed. They are not your daughters. Your posts certainly have the appearance of being those TV Sherlock Holmes posts that make two presumptions. The first is that the Thai have done something conspiratorial and dishonest and the second is that you are going to solve the riddle for the benefit of...I guess your bored ego.

Beyond the concept of compensation (which wont bring back their family members) is a concept known as responsibility/accountability, introspection and improvement (learning from mistakes) I was not thinking about compensation when i posted, just accountability. I grew up in america but dont necessarily share the "sue everybody" mentality. As it seems, thailand has a strong culture of financial compensation as if money is the answer to everything.

I agree some of the tv theories are far fetched and can seem paranoid. i have a lifetime of surfing and a decent knowledge of water safety including that which was learned/taught to me by lifeguards and fellow surfers in addition to some science background. Believe me the questions posed are far from sherlock level but relate to very basic things.

Look at post #48 from a lifeguard/ water safety professional.

If my ego / intellectual function ever were bored it would take a lot more than this topic to repair it.

[boisian]

"Chalermpol said the women were still holding hands"

Anyone who can read this and not get choked up is inhuman.

Your right, at first when read it I was also chocked, but meanwhile thinking on how a life jacket can get out if you hold someones hand.

My opinion, they did not wear life jacket, the floating jackets where thrown in the water to clear the guard .......

Perhaps they were holding on to each other in desperation after the strong currents had pulled the lifejackets off. Is there any need for you to be so cynical in such tragic circumstances? I think if they were not wearing lifejackets and the "guard" had just thrown them into the water their friends would have commented on it.

you see someone fall into the water, the first thing you should do is throw them a flotation device - guard did the right action in that case.

[chrissables]

Very sad and my condolences to their families and friends.

Where was the regulatory enforcement to CORRECTLY wear the life jackets. I cannot believe they were wearing them correctly (or at all). Had they been correctly worn this tragedy may have been avoided or minimised. But, this is Thailand - mai pen rai.

Really? Do yo think there should be a law that make you wear life jackets when VIEWING waterfalls?

[RickBradford]

The fact that they "lost their lifejackets in the strong currents" is also telling.

Many times I see people "wearing" lifejackets which are simply worn like a jacket, with not even an attempt to secure them properly.

Patrick

It's also probable that the lifejackets were completely unfit for purpose.

I was on a Thai ferry today and at first I thought the thing lying on my plastic chair was a very old sandwich inadvertently left behind by some former traveller. Zero buoyancy, and hardly enough orange colour to attract attention even after the occupant had drowned.

A Western safety inspector would have fainted on the spot.