Tsunami Volunteer English Teacher Drowns In Phuket

[tourleadersi]

There was more to this situation than this article tells. It is simply a sugar coated version of what really happened, and being a friend of Elena I think that people deserve and need to know the truth. The group of young people at the beach that day were volunteers working through a company whos name i will not mention. The person in charge of their group, their leader, the person paid to look after them and help them was the one who insisted on taking them to that particular beach that day. The leader told all the volunteers that it was ok to go onto the beach, and when he was asked if they could get in the water he told them they could and that it was ok to do so. Many of them entered the water, but soon four of them got pulled out. They began waving their arms in the air, knowing that they were in trouble, and their leader simply waved back at them. When one of the other volunteers told the leader that they were in trouble and he needed to get help, the leader simply stood by and did nothing. Many of the volunteers jumped into the water to try to help. One of the victims was able to swim back himself. Finally a life guard showed up, but after a few failed attempts at rescuing the three people in the water he simply quit trying. Some of the voulnteers were brave and were able to rescue two of the other people in the water, but poor Elena was still stuck out there. Finally their leader went to get help, but all he did was call his boss and tell him that one of his group members was drowning. There were many people on the beach who could have helped, but the only person who spoke Thai, the group leader, didn't tell them what was going on. Eventually Elena was out of sight and her body was found later. This was an extremely tragic event, and although the beach did have red flags posted, the people who entered the water did so because someone who lived there and was there to take care of them and ensure their safety told them it was ok. While it obviously would hurt to lose someone you really cared about, it hurts even more to know that this whole event could have been prevented if the proper actions were taken immediately. I'm really tired of reading articles on this that don't tell the entire truth, people read them and think that Elena and the others simply shouldn't have gotten in the water and therefore it is their fault, but in reality it is the fault of the negligent leader, and the slow response of officials.

A really tragic event and a sad loss of life - but not so long before someone starts blaming a local. With red flags and no swimming signs all over the place why would anybody listen to a tourist group leader?

I have worked as a tour leader all over the world for almost 10 years and I can say that I am not surprised that they took their leaders advice and met their end.

As a TL many people in your charge place all of their personal responsibility onto you, and disengage their brains knowing that someone is there to take care of them. An example. I was leading a hike in Madeira and at the back of the group checking on the slowest walker. We were on a cliff path with no deviations so often at this section I would hang back so I could keep an eye on everyone in front of me. One man, about 5 people ahead of me suddenly fell headfirst off of the edge of the path, fell about 3 metres and landed on a narrow ledge with half of him hanging over a further 50m sheer drop. I scrambled down and dragged him back from the edge. Luckily there were no serious injuries and I quickly assisted him back up onto the path. Turned out he had been walking along looking up at some flowers and stepped straight off the edge (a practice I had warned them all about earlier in the day). The groups response? "Why didn't you tell him not to step there?" The entire group felt I was responsible as I hadn't warned him that he can't walk on fresh air.

There have been other situations over the years where things are getting dicey. Go back into danger, go forward into danger. As a tour leader you have to make a split decision and then give instructions. More often than not the entire group will concur and follow you knowing that they are heading into danger but they will be alright 'because the tour leader says so.' The people I worked with were not blind sheep, they were lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers etc. They just used to trust me implicitly. In 9 years and perhaps 3000 customers I can think of only one instance when they disregarded my advice. 3 men decided to do a hike that I believed was too dangerous. I remained with the main group and assisted in the others rescue some 30 minutes later! We are not parents, I made them aware of the risks and they elected to go ahead anyway. The next responsibility of a tour leader is to begin to get ready to assist them when they get into trouble.

Am I surprised that they disregarded the red flags after their tour leader told them it was safe? Not at all.

Is the tour leader responsible for this accident? In my professional opinion he is 100% responsible. There is a responsiblity shift that occurs when you are a leader. If you are not capable of thinking for more peoples safety than your own you should not be doing the job.

Will there be any comeback on him? There should be, I have known of colleagues who have gone to prison for decisions they have made. One guy in the states made a bad call that resulted in a number of his customers dying.

What did he do wrong? We all make mistakes, but his failure to react when the time needed it was inexcusable. In this case you MUST always follow local safety guidelines, no matter how stupid you may think they are.

If he had been a farang tour leader I can guarantee that his parent company would be facing an absolutely huge lawsuit right now. From previous similar lawsuits within the industry the family would win as well. A customer once tried to sue my company because he had an arm ripped off by a hippo in Africa. His defence was "The tour leader didn't tell me to not pet the hippos". The judges response was "You twit". Had the tour leader had said it was safe to do so the company would have lost, no questions asked.

[ChoakMyDee]

I'd be interested to know what the results were of the lawsuit(if there actually was one) as it is 2 years later. Anyone have any info?

[brahmburgers]

.... They began waving their arms in the air, knowing that they were in trouble, and their leader simply waved back at them. ....

Reminds me of a recent mention, within the thread about the guy in green jeans who drowned in April: Someone wrote in a commented that he had been with a tour group snorkeling near Phuket. The tour leader told everyone that whomever wanted to jump in the water and swim ashore could. The farang poster said he went in the water and then found it was too difficult to swim to shore (rip tide?) - he shouted and waved at the Thai tour guides, but they just smiled and waved back. The guy said he might have drowned, had another farang not come along to assist him.

Message to Thais dealing with tourists: wake up and be aware of potential dangers - particularly when you're put in a leadership position with visitors. You can devolve to your little mai pen rai world when you're drinking watered down whiskey and eating crickets with your buddies at the local tavern. But when you're out in the real world, be responsible!

Edited June 23, 2009 by brahmburgers

[atyclb]

I have been a wave surfer since childhood and have a deep respect for the ocean. Have also spent years on Oahu's north shore and surfed/swam/snorkeled.

Some of my observations while in Phuket. Have seen multiple lifeguard towers but never to dat someone sitting on the tower watching the beach. Have seen so called lifeguards (yellow shirts?) usually goofing off doing everything else but watching the beach. I have purposely spent time focusing on observing the guards in light of recent drownings. You would think the'd be especially vigilant, but NO.

On Oahu's north shore there are clear signs posted that say "no swimming" and/or strong/dangerous current. Irregardless of the best signs, the guards need to constantly watch the beach because people often don't care about signs, some dont read english(Japan tourists), some are drinking alcohol. People can get dragged in by rushing water without even swimming in the water. Spectators sit on rocks close to the water and get hit with a wave and fallin then dragged by the current.

Knowing to not fight the current but go with it til it subsides and/or actually goes towards the shore is helpful. Knowing that the brunt of a waves force can be averted by diving under it may help, unless low tide and the waves are essentially breaking on sand. Catching a wave(body surfing) can be your best friend and bring you back to shore fast Not panicking and simply treading water or backfloat can help you.

Above all, regardless of any signs, there needs to be actual lifeguards actively and constantly watching. The guards need the right to commandeer any commercial jet ski or rental surfboard for rescue. Many of the waves I see during rainy season are not even suitable for surfing as they close out. No place to turn right or left and slam down. Can snap a board or a neck.

From a relative point of view, with basic lifeguard/rescue in place it is much easier than many other beaches in the world; ie australia, hawaii, california.

PS; I have been resued twice. Once in Hawaii tired of paddling and caught in open ocean current

Once in Bali, caught by a very strong outgoing current almost in the shipping lane. Above all, don't panic or start thinking about fish that want to eat you.

[jackdanielsesq]

Why not name names?!

BR>Jack

[johnefallis]

Ironic and sad. RIP.

What possesses someone to swim in a heavy rain storm?

Because they are going to get wet anyway???

[aussiejosh]

Remember, if ever caught in a riptide, do not attempt to fight the current. Just float along with it until it subsides. Then attempt to reach shore, even if it is 1km away from where you entered the water.

Also, rain showers do no harm, but lightning will. I used to live in Florida, which ironically is known as the Sunshine State. It seemed to me that it should be named the Rain & Lightning State. Everytime I was at the beach and saw dark clouds approaching, I got the h*ll out of there.

Unless your a particularly good swimmer then perhaps you might consider swimming out from the side, unless its particularly hard I usually just swim hard and swim out from the side.

[cmdream]

When I was much younger I spent a lot of time swimming in the ocean off California. I was a good swimmer but I always carried a deflated beachball under the elastic of my swim trunks. If I got in to trouble it could be inflated then deflated after I had rested. It saved my life at least 3 times! If you swim you might want to do the same.

Great advice, helitool, as a sailor in Hawaii for 20 years I have seen and read about tourists there who did not respect the power of the ocean. The waves and cross currents are very strong and catch you by surprise. Your idea of having an inflatable in your trunks is a life saving idea, good on you for sharing. Chok Dee

[Datsun240Z]

Remember, if ever caught in a riptide, do not attempt to fight the current. Just float along with it until it subsides. Then attempt to reach shore, even if it is 1km away from where you entered the water.

Good advice, are you an Aussie or a Yank?

To survive a rip current, or any crisis in the water, you have to keep calm, and you have to conserve your energy. If you don't think you can swim all the way back to the beach, get past the rip current and tread water. Call for help, signal to people on the beach and, if all else fails, wait for the waves to carry you in.

[Datsun240Z]

.... They began waving their arms in the air, knowing that they were in trouble, and their leader simply waved back at them. ....

Reminds me of a recent mention, within the thread about the guy in green jeans who drowned in April: Someone wrote in a commented that he had been with a tour group snorkeling near Phuket. The tour leader told everyone that whomever wanted to jump in the water and swim ashore could. The farang poster said he went in the water and then found it was too difficult to swim to shore (rip tide?) - he shouted and waved at the Thai tour guides, but they just smiled and waved back. The guy said he might have drowned, had another farang not come along to assist him.

Message to Thais dealing with tourists: wake up and be aware of potential dangers - particularly when you're put in a leadership position with visitors. You can devolve to your little mai pen rai world when you're drinking watered down whiskey and eating crickets with your buddies at the local tavern. But when you're out in the real world, be responsible!

Most Thai's cannot even swim.

[moskito]

Most Thai's cannot even swim.

Even if this Thread is 3 YEARS old.

Most Thaipeople cant swim, how true. But true is also it is not their fault. We learned swimming in school when

we were about 8 years old, some of us like me learned swimming even earlier.

Its the lack of education in this country here. I guess its not absolutely necessary for Isaanies to learn swimming

but for people who live close to the sea. I bymyself safed a 12 year old girl at Kata Beach while her Father was

only looking, to scared to go in the water to safe HIS DAUGHTER.........Another 10 year old boy died in my arms

at Nai Harn Beach, not even in the Sea, in the Lagoon, while his Parents sitting and having fun. Nobody was watching

the children in the water. It was not even deep.

Since then, I NEVER visit beaches on SUNDAYS when a lot of Thais are there anymore..............

[Datsun240Z]

Most Thai's cannot even swim.

Even if this Thread is 3 YEARS old.

Most Thaipeople cant swim, how true. But true is also it is not their fault. We learned swimming in school when

we were about 8 years old, some of us like me learned swimming even earlier.

Its the lack of education in this country here. I guess its not absolutely necessary for Isaanies to learn swimming

but for people who live close to the sea. I bymyself safed a 12 year old girl at Kata Beach while her Father was

only looking, to scared to go in the water to safe HIS DAUGHTER.........Another 10 year old boy died in my arms

at Nai Harn Beach, not even in the Sea, in the Lagoon, while his Parents sitting and having fun. Nobody was watching

the children in the water. It was not even deep.

Since then, I NEVER visit beaches on SUNDAYS when a lot of Thais are there anymore..............

[McFarang]

There was more to this situation than this article tells. It is simply a sugar coated version of what really happened, and being a friend of Elena I think that people deserve and need to know the truth. The group of young people at the beach that day were volunteers working through a company whos name i will not mention. The person in charge of their group, their leader, the person paid to look after them and help them was the one who insisted on taking them to that particular beach that day. The leader told all the volunteers that it was ok to go onto the beach, and when he was asked if they could get in the water he told them they could and that it was ok to do so. Many of them entered the water, but soon four of them got pulled out. They began waving their arms in the air, knowing that they were in trouble, and their leader simply waved back at them. When one of the other volunteers told the leader that they were in trouble and he needed to get help, the leader simply stood by and did nothing. Many of the volunteers jumped into the water to try to help. One of the victims was able to swim back himself. Finally a life guard showed up, but after a few failed attempts at rescuing the three people in the water he simply quit trying. Some of the voulnteers were brave and were able to rescue two of the other people in the water, but poor Elena was still stuck out there. Finally their leader went to get help, but all he did was call his boss and tell him that one of his group members was drowning. There were many people on the beach who could have helped, but the only person who spoke Thai, the group leader, didn't tell them what was going on. Eventually Elena was out of sight and her body was found later. This was an extremely tragic event, and although the beach did have red flags posted, the people who entered the water did so because someone who lived there and was there to take care of them and ensure their safety told them it was ok. While it obviously would hurt to lose someone you really cared about, it hurts even more to know that this whole event could have been prevented if the proper actions were taken immediately. I'm really tired of reading articles on this that don't tell the entire truth, people read them and think that Elena and the others simply shouldn't have gotten in the water and therefore it is their fault, but in reality it is the fault of the negligent leader, and the slow response of officials.

I am Sorry but a 20 year old Expat should know better than to swim with Red Flags Flying this is standard throughout the world on beaches. DO NOT GO SWIMMING WHEN THE RED FLAGS ARE FLYING End Of Story no Sympathy