Norwegian tourist fatally injured by speed boat rotors near Koh Tao

[yogavnture]

Who knows what to believe,,, There's 3 slightly different, "versions" quoted,,, 1 "A rescue team, with emergency medical services personnel, rushed to the scene of accident but could not save her life."... 2 "She died while the authorities were trying to send her a hospital on Koh Samui.", and 3 "She was struck by the rotor when she floated to the surface after diving",,,

So,, "floated to the surface",,, did she run out of air, die, float to the surface, get struck?",,,,,, jeez,,, we make, "jokes" about how terrible the reporting is here,,, yet who knows?,,,, maybe all the confusion is purposeful,,, it tends to,, "muddy the water",,, maybe done semi on purpose?..... With 3 slightly different version,, but different enough to really make a difference,,, WHAT family of the victim would EVER get a straight story unless actually COMING here?... and in an accident, where the ID of the person is confirmed,, how many families actually do that?.. now a murder?,,, uncomfirmed identity?... then Ya,, a family member/close friend, is gonna make the trip,,,

this whole story is weird. first the gal in ko tao . whats the story. the true story. this aint rocket science on this one. she was obviously with other divers. and im speculating but guessing she wasn't a pro so was closeby to instructor and dive buddy. so their were witnesses. so the truth is possible here. im waiting the Russian story seems like it might be a bit more complicated at they were cave diving alone. so no witnesses but that story is weird too. two guys both die. and they were in separate areas.....freaky.......as a diver I like to know what happened in both incidences. it helps the rest of us prevent future repeats. I wish thai visa would post a story on the Russian divers and updated facts on the gal on ko tao. the innocent gal that trusted others with her life .

[gigman]

It is total fault of organisers .

Place where divers are must be cleary marked .

Negligence like that should be panished as hard as possible.

That's not a fault of boat rider if place was unmarked.

Just pure negligence and lack of imagination

[sabaii69]

When has the world started calling propellers 'rotors'?

[drgoon]

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When shallow diving or near the surface the instructor should first deploy an orange float to show boats that divers are below.
If the float was deployed you then have to rely on passing craft to have a lookout to spot it.
It would appear 1 or both of these safety precautions failed.

Done this many times..... never have I seen a 'spotter' either at the bow or stern or any crew taking due care and attention for those in the water. All they look at is what or who is on the surface.

[rickirs]

Signs should be posted all along the beaches to warn people.

[chrisinth]

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I WANT MORE INFO ON THIS STORY . THE NATIONS ARTICLE WAS 2 SENTENCES LONG. IS THE THAI GOVT GOING TO AT LEAST SEND A TEAM DOWN FROM BKK TO INVESTIGATE THIS. OR IS THIS STORY OVER

Think you need to calm down a bit deary.

Thai Visa only reports on others articles. They do not, as far as i know, have investigative journalists on their staff involved in said work.

[2fishin2]

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When shallow diving or near the surface the instructor should first deploy an orange float to show boats that divers are below.

If the float was deployed you then have to rely on passing craft to have a lookout to spot it.

It would appear 1 or both of these safety precautions failed.

Done this many times..... never have I seen a 'spotter' either at the bow or stern or any crew taking due care and attention for those in the water. All they look at is what or who is on the surface.

If you people dont know boating or operations quit speculating and assuming anything. No an instructor does not deploy an orange bouy. If the boat is at anchorage and there is a diving operation going on, then the boat will display an international diving flag. This lets other boats know what is taking place and they have a requirement to stay xx meters away from said vessel. This distance is determined by the country or involved in waters.

Come on guys instead of thinking up things on your own, take it from somebody who knows this operation all too well.

[catweazle]

This island is cursed!

RIP to the victim, condolences to family and friends.

[mrfill]

Sadly reminiscent of the accident the lovely Kirsty Macoll had several years ago.

But not a rotor (which lives on top of a helicopter), it is a propellor.

[LPCustom69]

When I learned to dive here decades ago, we were taught to hang at 10 to 15 feet for a while. This gave your body a chance to recover, and permitted you to listen to what was going on. Sound travels a great distance underwater. The instructor and assistants were always cognizant of where everyone was.

[Traveller45]

Very sad, yes, but this is something that may happen everywhere and all the time. We should not see this magic connotation with Koh Tao all the time. It's a place like any other. Give the poor island a break

[mok199]

i watch as the jetskis and speedboats and the mini vans and tour buses destroy a country that was once a paradise....RIP thailand..you are already dead...

[delgarcon]

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When shallow diving or near the surface the instructor should first deploy an orange float to show boats that divers are below.

If the float was deployed you then have to rely on passing craft to have a lookout to spot it.

It would appear 1 or both of these safety precautions failed.

Done this many times..... never have I seen a 'spotter' either at the bow or stern or any crew taking due care and attention for those in the water. All they look at is what or who is on the surface.

If you people dont know boating or operations quit speculating and assuming anything. No an instructor does not deploy an orange bouy. If the boat is at anchorage and there is a diving operation going on, then the boat will display an international diving flag. This lets other boats know what is taking place and they have a requirement to stay xx meters away from said vessel. This distance is determined by the country or involved in waters.

Come on guys instead of thinking up things on your own, take it from somebody who knows this operation all too well.

So you happen to know that the dive boat was displaying an international diving flag? I don't think that people care about you"knowing this operation all too well", I think like me they are saddened by this tragic loss of life and are very anxious that water sports operators should be better educated in their craft. The idiot boat driver was 23 and almost certainly untrained. The Dive centre promised safety and supervision to this poor girl, did they give it? I know a couple of guys who work for dive shops for free as "instructors" so that they too can dive free in return. Neither of them were asked for their résumé. So pipe down Mr Knowitall, We'll speculate as much as we like as we will probably never know the truth. This is Thailand, not the USA.

[Seelow]

Never mention safety, and Thai. In the same breath.

You can do, but this site should invent an "oxymoron" emoticon.

[Travelman868]

Norwegian tourist fatally injured in Koh Tao diving accident

Photo: propellersafety.com

A Norwegian tourist was fatally injured while scuba diving when she was hit by the propeller of a passing boat near Koh Tao in Thailand’s southern province of Surat Thani on December 22, according to local police.

The Norwegian woman, identified as Silji Macdison, 22, sustained severe cuts to the head and on her left thigh as she was surfacing in shallow waters just off Koh Tao around 2.30 pm.

A rescue team, with emergency medical services personnel, rushed to the scene of accident but could not save her life.

According to police, Macdison was undergoing scuba diving course under supervision from an instructor from Scuba Junction diving school.

Natakorn Meekwan, 23, the captain of the boat was arrested for recklessness causing death. The boat was carrying a group of scuba divers when the accident took place.

The body of Macdison was being held at Koh Tao health clinic pending an autopsy to be performed at Surat Thani hospital.

--ScandAsia.com 2014-12-22

Why does Thailand have such a problem, separating swimmers from speedboats and jetski's. The ferry boats should be forced into lanes and kept away from the beach swim area.

Boats used for diving could use jet packs rather than propellers and a speed limit put in place around the dive area's. Of course it would be helpful if dive company's took care of their customers.

There are far too many "accidents" due to carelessness. Stop the police taking "tea money" and get them to enforce the regulations.

[tancred]

Sad terrible preventable tragedy ,if only there was an effort made to improve safety in general Cha-am beach a real danger zone with speed boats towing Banana boats with the driver looking behind ,another death waiting,it's just madness,Sorry to the girl and family

[Balance]

A utter and complete lack of competence. I have been diving for 25 years and NEVER has the dive boat had it's engine running from the time the anchor was secured to the time everyone was one board and accounted for. Someone should be charged with with her death, but of course that will never happen because nothing is ever anyone's fault.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Balance

[2fishin2]

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When shallow diving or near the surface the instructor should first deploy an orange float to show boats that divers are below.

If the float was deployed you then have to rely on passing craft to have a lookout to spot it.

It would appear 1 or both of these safety precautions failed.

Done this many times..... never have I seen a 'spotter' either at the bow or stern or any crew taking due care and attention for those in the water. All they look at is what or who is on the surface.

If you people dont know boating or operations quit speculating and assuming anything. No an instructor does not deploy an orange bouy. If the boat is at anchorage and there is a diving operation going on, then the boat will display an international diving flag. This lets other boats know what is taking place and they have a requirement to stay xx meters away from said vessel. This distance is determined by the country or involved in waters.

Come on guys instead of thinking up things on your own, take it from somebody who knows this operation all too well.

So you happen to know that the dive boat was displaying an international diving flag? I don't think that people care about you"knowing this operation all too well", I think like me they are saddened by this tragic loss of life and are very anxious that water sports operators should be better educated in their craft. The idiot boat driver was 23 and almost certainly untrained. The Dive centre promised safety and supervision to this poor girl, did they give it? I know a couple of guys who work for dive shops for free as "instructors" so that they too can dive free in return. Neither of them were asked for their résumé. So pipe down Mr Knowitall, We'll speculate as much as we like as we will probably never know the truth. This is Thailand, not the USA.

Mom said there were idiots in the world....the boat driver and people like you who have no idea about the trade or what goes on. Oh yeah your opinion also.....

[sambum]

R.I.P Another tragic accident near koh tao. What bad luck this beautiful paradise has had this year. My thoughts go out to the family of the deseased and the islanders who must ne in disbelief as another tragedy happens. Happy New Year 2015 koh tao it can't be worse than 2014. Can it?

I wouldn't call 2 backpackers being murdered "bad luck" and neither would I call avoidable accidents like this one "bad luck" (The speedboat captain has been arrested, I believe) Plus other unexplained deaths, and lack of investigation would tend to suggest that "bad luck" has got nothing to do with it, and unless something is done about it, you can bet your bottom $ that 2015 will not be an improvement on 2014

[bander]

And of course the speed boat driver fled the scene as usual.

[sambum]

And of course the speed boat driver fled the scene as usual.

Wrong! As per post above:-

Natakorn Meekwan, 23, the captain of the boat was arrested for recklessness causing death. The boat was carrying a group of scuba divers when the accident took place.

The body of Macdison was being held at Koh Tao health clinic pending an autopsy to be performed at Surat Thani hospital.

--ScandAsia.com 2014-12-22

Edited December 23, 2014 by sambum

[Stargeezr]

I feel very sad for this girls family and friends. I know that scuba diving is

dangerous enough, and coming to the surface is really very dangerous when

there are boats around. The driver of the boat seems not only young at 23, but

he was not trained to be careful when he is in the vicinity of people who are

diving, considering that he had a boat full of divers himself, his actions were

reckless, and I hope he goes to jail for his actions. This is another tragedy that did not have to happen.

RIP.

[CMKiwi]

I havent read all the reply posts so please excuse my ignorance if I repeat what may already have been said. My girlfriend and I went down to Krabi about 6 weeks ago and stayed in Ao Nang. Naturally we went for a snorkel tour around 7 islands and a few days later did a couple of dives around Ko Phi Phi.

Both of us being qualified divers are aware of dangers of motor boats and adapt the normal practise when surfacing. Even when not diving to great depths we always stop at 5 metres for 5-8 minutes. The dive guide we were with releases the ¨safety sausage¨ which indicates to others as well as our own dive boat that divers beneath are about to surface.

Even when coming up from 5m we always are on the look out for boats or any other object that may be above us. As has been stated, noise travels very well in water. Motorboat engines are incredibly loud and unless you have never heard one before, it would be very unusual to mistake it for anything else.

Sometimes you get what you pay for, unfortunately this poor soul didnt get the safety she expected when going out on this trip/excursion.

Snorkling is a bit different to diving as people are generally on the surface close or to the surface. Long tail boats have a very long prop shaft and when the captain on the boat moves the prop there is a bit of potential/kinetic energy in the prop shaft. So if it makes contact with a person its still going to do damage even if the propellor itself doesnt make contact. I would have thought in this instance, the guide/company would have had a safety person to either keep his group together or steer boats away from his customers.

Like any sport, there are inherent risks. Unfortunately the outcome in this occasion has cost a life.

RIP

[yogavnture]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

When shallow diving or near the surface the instructor should first deploy an orange float to show boats that divers are below.

If the float was deployed you then have to rely on passing craft to have a lookout to spot it.

It would appear 1 or both of these safety precautions failed.

Done this many times..... never have I seen a 'spotter' either at the bow or stern or any crew taking due care and attention for those in the water. All they look at is what or who is on the surface.

If you people dont know boating or operations quit speculating and assuming anything. No an instructor does not deploy an orange bouy. If the boat is at anchorage and there is a diving operation going on, then the boat will display an international diving flag. This lets other boats know what is taking place and they have a requirement to stay xx meters away from said vessel. This distance is determined by the country or involved in waters.

Come on guys instead of thinking up things on your own, take it from somebody who knows this operation all too well.

kind of hard not to think things up on our own considering their was a two sentence report in the newspaper and 3 variations of info here on what happened. so wheres the truth. that innocent gal deserves at least that. she gets killed trusting professionals and he gets a two sentence story in newspaper saying she was fatally injured? unacceptable. Thailand is over. ko tao is too dangerous now. I go their for a month every year and every year I see stupid tourists two on a motorbike which is not maintained to begin with. (the thais hoping u crash for extra money) and the stupid tourists with no helmet are going down the hill with a motorbike they don't even know . on soft dirt surface, and I warn them its dangerous and tell them to so very very slow. and the pride of the tourist (with 2 huge backpacks on the bike as well)... tourist saying I know what im doing . then I just watch as they crash, and ruin their holiday . its like clockwork. I cant believe that this story isn't getting more traction. this was a preventable accident unless she didn't follow instructions. missing a boat as u come up is not that difficult unless the boat isn't following protocol. according to the info I have some police from bkk are investigating along with padi. but I want to get to the bottom of this incident so nobody else has this happen to them. its not even high season yet. will their be another snorkeler or diver chopped up by a boat this year on ko tao. lets hope not. a smart man learns from his mistakes a stupd man repeats them

[2fishin2]

I vacationed on Koh Tao few years back. Its a cesspool of drunk, stupid young tourists and loser expats who "teach" diving during the day and drink their lives away in the evening. And please dont get me started on the mafia Thai islanders....

[yogavnture]

Yes, and so does SanSaiExPat's waste of our internet bandwidth and screen real estate.

After SSEP castigated Sweatalot's English, I was pointing out that SSEP has his own English issues. Stones and glass houses.

Indeed my posts can also be deleted, they add very little.

I see. Forgetting a simple letter can make your post being quoted many times. Interesting that nobody cares about the content - which has not been understood by the first orthography police guy.

I thought this story was about a gal who was killed by a boat prop?

[yogavnture]

I vacationed on Koh Tao few years back. Its a cesspool of drunk, stupid young tourists and loser expats who "teach" diving during the day and drink their lives away in the evening. And please dont get me started on the mafia Thai islanders....

want a real laugh. go to where the ferry lands. the morning after full moon party. and watch the drunk tourists get off the boat from kpy (hopefully they have vomited enuf onboard to make them sober a bit) and then they get off the boat with cigarettes in hand, (you have just had your morning tea at 8 am and are just waking up whilst you witness this) the idiots are all painted up in orange, and of course haven't showered , and the first thing they do on ko tao? either go to seven eleven for a beer or rent a motorbike to drive drunk in the morning , as they go looking for their 200baht room

[yogavnture]

you make some good points tingtau. the reason ive gone ballistic is that the thai govt must be making alot of money on the island of ko tao. just look at the numbers of people going their on lomprayah alone.

now if the thai govt is making large sums of money on ko tao. shouldn't they be spending some money on police patrols, other than the police road blocks looking for weed to line their pockets. I think people might be getting frustrated because this island is pretty and thier are some nice spots still. but they are disappearing quickly.

this story is more than just the poor soul lost here. its about the big picture in ko tao. the lack of forward thinking. thank god some westerners are their trying to keep the seas clean and doing other steps to protect the ocean which is the main reason people go thier.

my understanding is fishing boats cannot fish within a certain distance of the island. but im unsure if this is policed. it seems to me the thai military should start some sort of small base their to protect the island . its gotten that bad. total neglect. but hey lomprayah still ships them in for cheap cheap dive courses. don't don't take more than 20 kg of luggage on lomprayah, they charge extra for that. ( u might be bringing in food or such which will hurt the economy on ko tao. ).

rst and foremost: R.I.P. Silje Fauskerud Mathisen and my deepest, deeptest condolences go out to your loved ones! In my following comments, rest assured that I am not for one second blaming this unfortunate SCUBA diver student. In fact, because we don’t know anything more than that “she was taking instruction in some level of a SCUBA course”; “she was surfacing in shallow water, from a dive”; and “she was struck by the propeller of a moving speedboat”, I am not prepared to “blame” anyone at this point!! To lay the blame at the feet of anyone at this point is completely unjustified inasmuch as one would have to rely totally upon conjecture and/or assumption. But when has that ever stood in the way of voicing one’s biases?

So many people seem to automatically want to jump on the “bash Thailand” bandwagon or lay the blame on the speedboat. Why? Well, possibly because so many of us non-Thais come from so-called “nanny” states, where one can hardly step off the curb into the street without there being a sign warning us to look out for cars! Duh!! Thailand is not such a place and to a very large extent, a person is on his or her own when it comes to looking out for one’s personal safety here. Honduras was, when I lived there, very much the same! The result in both countries, when things go badly, seems to be to blame the country instead of the reckless, or simply unfortunate actions of the involved parties/victims!

Now, there undoubtedly have been other fatalities of a similar nature to this, however I am only aware of one in Thailand waters, this occurring in December of 2012 off, I believe, Koh Sak near Pattaya. Whether or not the lack of any surface marker was involved is unknown to me...other than the basic facts, just as here, nothing further was ever made known to the general public. SCUBA instructors are well versed in the use of the deployable surface marker buoy or DSMB. In fact it is a skill taught to the professional diver during his/her “cross-over” from recreational diver to professional status. It is imposed as a requirement, by any reputable dive centre, that the instructor or guide deploy their DSMB prior to surfacing from almost ANY dive, no matter what the depth of the dive. The dive centres for whom I have worked not only require their instructors or dive masters to do so, but would not continue to use the services of any who failed to do so. As far as course material for the SCUBA student, while many SCUBA instructors included instruction in the use of the DSMB prior to the Pattaya incident, no matter what certification course was being taught. This skill was only incorporated as a mandatoryskill into the student’s Open Water SCUBA certification.course in June of this year.

I have dived in many areas, including Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Honduras, as well as Thailand and I can unhesitatingly state that when diving close to any shore area, one often encounters speedboats in the near vicinity. I can also say from personal observation that speedboats in certain Thailand areas with which I am familiar, are an absolute anathema to the SCUBA diver. All the more reason for extreme caution to be exercised at any time during a dive when one is nearing the surface…..anywhere!!

Besides a terrible, terrible tragedy, what did occur here? Was there, in fact, a marker buoy deployed, but ignored, or for some unknown reason not seen, by the speedboat operator? Did the instructor fail to deploy a marker buoy and thus allow an unsafe ascent to be made? Did the student become separated from the instructor and surface by necessity without a marker buoy? There are many other possibilities, but those would be the three most likely circumstances for this tragic event.

Whatever the cause, hopefully this will underscore to every diver, the absolute need for one to exercise extreme caution when surfacing from a dive. .As soon as you become a certified diver, purchase and carry with you on all dives, a DSMB! With rare exceptions, never surface without having deployed a DSMB! Even when a DSMB has been deployed, listen for the sound of a boat operating in your vicinity and, if in doubt, wait for it to leave your area, keeping in mind that underwater it is extremely difficult, especially for the novice diver, to make any accurate judgement as to the boat’s distance or direction of travel. It’s your life and you...you alone, bear the ultimate consequence of any error….no matter whose error it is!!

[yogavnture]

sorry to all for going ballistic on this story. all I can say is that this ko tao situation has gotten totally out of hand. the govt on ko tao and the govt. in the province is not capaple of handling the situation on ko tao . the central govt. in bkk needs to go down their NOW and knock some heads around. if not this situation is going to happen again.

[yogavnture]

maybe on ko tao the boat operators should be told their is at least a 500baht fine if they run over a snorkeler or diver. and 600baht fine if a drunken jet ski operator hits one