Iranian, American teenagers electrocuted at swimming pool of Bangkok condominium

BANGKOK: -- A 16-year-old Iranian and his 16-year-old American friend were electrocuted by leaked current from a lamp pole beside a swimming pool of a Bangkok condominium late Thursday night, police said.

The Iranian teenager was identified as Daryush Hosseini and his American friend as Paul Doughenty.

Police said they were electrocuted beside the swimming pool on the ninth floor of the Charming Residence on Soi Sainamthip 2 off Soi Sukhumvit 22 at about midnight.

The two were not residents of the building but they visited friends who live there to swim with them.

Witnesses told police that Doughenty leaned on the lamp beside the pool after he had swum and short circuit occurred. Hosseini tried to pull him from the lamp pole but the two were electrocuted.


-- The Nation 2014-05-30

Terrible News to read. R.I.P. to both of them.

What a terrible tragedy for these boys and their families.

It's no point looking for blame as it's likely none will be found.

...and little use hoping that others will learn from this and fix other potential problems...but that may be wishful thinking as well.

Sad.

Horrendous.

Safety first. And I hope the families sue the hell out of the condo management. It might create a small change in the understanding for liability in public places.

Swimming pool with high voltage lighting, no RCDs, no earthing - An accident waiting to happen. When will these people ever learn?

This is a very sad report , this day and age I would have hoped for a better out come than this , a live pole beside a swimming pool, bdenner , hit the nail on the head as to what wasn't there., one hopes that the full force of the law is instigated under these sad circumstances, however I wont hold my breath, My sincere sympathy to both Paul and Daryush family and friends , forever young. R.I.P. Chainarong.

sympathies to the families, again we see the thai "electricians" quality of work, if you can move your fingers you qualify but then this applies to all aspects of building

One has to wonder how many other condos at risk.

I suppose the response from the condo managers will be 'if they had not been in Thailand it would not have happened"

Both were fun loving , polite, respectful, kids. They will be missed by many.

So tragic for the families. Whenever I see the lift being repaired by lads in shower shoes and shorts, welders using sunglasses as shields and assorted other unqualified people to do technical work, I worry. Saving a few baht is more important to the rich who own these buildings than safety or responsibility.

I think that is a bit harsh,being American one would not expect a lamp installed in his own country in such a position would electrocute you as it would have been installed in a proper manner,which this one it seems was not.

Terrible story. RIP young fellas..........

An insensitive post removed.

Until some form of liability legislation is brought in and enforced, this type of 'accident' will continue.

Two more young lives lost, nothing will happen

In Thailand it seems 2 wires good, three wires bad,this is not the

first time this has happened at a swimming pool,and it wont be the

last unfortunately,RIP young lads,you lost your lives because

someone did not do the job properly.

regards worgeordie

the first thing I did when settled into out home here in Thailand was install core balance, not that expensive

Thai wife could not see it worth and her mother thought it was a waste of money (any thing you can not spend or eat has little value)

1 months ago my wifes friend came over with her 3 year old and decided to see if a metal rod will fit inside and electric power socket 1st thing she knew was the power went out all through the house, then found the child playing with the socket

Wife/s Friend believes it was her mother ghost that turned off the power before the baby put in the metal spike

what we take for granted, Thai culture sees so little value in things that may save lives

Only things that makes them wake up, is when they must pay big money for something that would have cost little money in the beginning

In Thailand I always touch any thing metal with the back of my hand first

It's like walking on the power cords strewn on wet soggy ground at the local temple fair. I know to avoid this, and you know to avoid this, but these kids don't know this. They assume that the standards of safety will be just like they are at home... and this is why so many of them come to grief, whether it be electrocution or diving into 3 inch deep water. The onus clearly lies with the department that manages this type of thing - building safety etc, and ensures that the proprietor has done his bit. None of this gets done in "near enough is good enough" Thailand... and the courts don't resolve these types of issues, (they should but they don't). Young people die too easily in places like this.

the first thing I did when settled into out home here in Thailand was install core balance, not that expensive

Thai wife could not see it worth and her mother thought it was a waste of money (any thing you can not spend or eat has little value)

1 months ago my wifes friend came over with her 3 year old and decided to see if a metal rod will fit inside and electric power socket

1st thing she knew was the power went out all through the house, then found the child playing with the socket

Wife/s Friend believes it was her mother ghost that turned off the power before the baby put in the metal spike

what we take for granted, Thai culture sees so little value in things that may save lives

Only things that makes them wake up, is when they must pay big money for something that would have cost little money in the beginning

In Thailand I always touch any thing metal with the back of my hand first

Second last sentence hit the nail on the head,great post.

Pool and no safe-t-cut .. time to sue the condo administration.

1 months ago my wifes friend came over with her 3 year old and decided to see if a metal rod will fit inside and electric power socket

1st thing she knew was the power went out all through the house, then found the child playing with the socket

Wife/s Friend believes it was her mother ghost that turned off the power before the baby put in the metal spike

This is one of the saddest things I've ever read

I suppose the response from the condo managers will be 'if they had not been in Thailand it would not have happened"

I think this is a little unnecessary.......

Witnesses told police that Doughenty leaned on the lamp beside the pool after he had swum

Not the cleverest thing to do, especially by a swimming pool! If he hadn't leant against the lamp they would still be alive today.

It's like walking on the power cords strewn on wet soggy ground at the local temple fair. I know to avoid this, and you know to avoid this, but these kids don't know this. They assume that the standards of safety will be just like they are at home... and this is why so many of them come to grief, whether it be electrocution or diving into 3 inch deep water. The onus clearly lies with the department that manages this type of thing - building safety etc, and ensures that the proprietor has done his bit. None of this gets done in "near enough is good enough" Thailand... and the courts don't resolve these types of issues, (they should but they don't). Young people die too easily in places like this.

I don't think it makes a bit of difference whether its a kid or not as to how an electric appliance near a pool becomes live.

That is pure incompetence on the part of the constructor/maintenance people. They just don't think which is why places have laws, and then we remember where we are.

These poor kids were killed by mai bpen arai. Thainess can be fatal.

I remember when we had some gates welded,they plugged the arc welder into a plug socket in the house,which flipped the cutout every 2 seconds,when i suggested the plug it in in the hair salon,next to the house,which has a seperate fuse box etc from the house and no other appliances running,all i got was" my pen rai" i told my wife it will be a problem if they burn out the house wiring,that's why i suggest using the salon",no,this Thailand is different" she told me ,i blew my top and yelled at them that they knew F#$@ all,and unplugged the welder and told them to come back next day with a generator,so what did they do next day,wire the welder directly to the power pole, no thought of safety what so ever,i am no expert,but i am sure a large arc welder is not designed to be plugged in to a household socket,with these kind of attitudes, no wonder these poor lads were electrocuted,is there even such a thing as a licence for electricians in Thailand,it would seem not.

1 months ago my wifes friend came over with her 3 year old and decided to see if a metal rod will fit inside and electric power socket

1st thing she knew was the power went out all through the house, then found the child playing with the socket

Wife/s Friend believes it was her mother ghost that turned off the power before the baby put in the metal spike

This is one of the saddest things I've ever read

1st Point: Sorry I should have posted that "when Core Balance is installed, the power cuts off in 1/10 of a heartbeat"

so the child was not even given a shock

The Core Balance is installed at the main Pwr box so cover all the power points in the house

2nd Point: In Thai culture every thing good and bad that happens to you is in direct cosequence to the ghosts you have in the house

For exmple: Thai wife will not walk under a washing line as this will upset the spirits.

I thought it had to do with the fact that under garment could have been hung there

but same happened with brand new never used washing line

It's like walking on the power cords strewn on wet soggy ground at the local temple fair. I know to avoid this, and you know to avoid this, but these kids don't know this. They assume that the standards of safety will be just like they are at home... and this is why so many of them come to grief, whether it be electrocution or diving into 3 inch deep water. The onus clearly lies with the department that manages this type of thing - building safety etc, and ensures that the proprietor has done his bit. None of this gets done in "near enough is good enough" Thailand... and the courts don't resolve these types of issues, (they should but they don't). Young people die too easily in places like this.

Agree, remember when they had that Songkran party in a swamp,and at least one person was electrocuted as they had wire's from the sound system i think it was running everywhere,taped together,i mean even a half wit could have seen that was a recipe for disaster,a conclusion that somehow eluded the organisers however.

I suppose the response from the condo managers will be 'if they had not been in Thailand it would not have happened"

I think this is a little unnecessary.......

Why,in my experience the condo owners will do everything they can to deny responsibility,blaming the falang i have found is a common practice.

Swimming pool with high voltage lighting, no RCDs, no earthing - An accident waiting to happen. When will these people ever learn?

Learn? Never! They would tell you first to wear your amulet instead of making sure that the green wire is properly grounded.

Have you taken a look lately at the sidewalks in Bangkok? Not even in Philippines or Cambodia they are a casual and cavalier as Thai motorcyclists riding up and down the foot paths endangering the lives of people.

They police does it too so... it's OK. Thai way. One more aspect of Thainess.

Condo management will have to pay a thousand baht...

Very sad indeed , but as anyone who works in the construction industry in Asia will tell you, there is no regulation and what little regulation there is is not enforced. That's why you pay a Sparky , Plumber and carpenter 300 baht a day in Thailand and in The UK you pay them 300 quid.

Malaysian building quality is worse than Thai IMO

I seem to recall a couple years ago on here the same thing happened at some hotel in Koh Chang.

Terrible tragedy this...