Norwegian tourist fatally injured by speed boat rotors near Koh Tao

[chrisinth]

One wonders do these dive boats fly Alpha when they have divers in the water and is it compulsory for the dive boats to have propeller guards fitted?

Probably a more important question is, do the speedboat cox'n's know what Alpha is?

I realize this accident was caused by a passing speedboat. The question about the prop guards above is more directed at a dive boat picking up a diver in distress. When a propeller comes in contact with human flesh, it is not a pretty sight. I have seen the results on three different occasions.

RIP to the unfortunate victim of this careless accident.

[Barney R]

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?

A tragic accident I agree 100% R.I.P young lady and sincere condolences to family and friends . As to bad luck on Koh Tao it is not , mismanagement,greed ,nepotism,no real law and order are the main contributors to the tragic events that have occurred there this year . You reap what you sow .

[ExPratt]

Tragic to say the least. If she couldn't get out of the way he must have been motoring

[eggburt]

why o why are divers and speedboats allowed to be in the same area this poor girl just had no chance of knowing about the speed boats pressence

but i expect the statement will be som nam na woukld have not happened if she hadden't been there

common sense that this will happen

khao tao is the island run by uncaring money grabbing incompedence fools

so on Khao Tao one cover up not yet compleated and now one tragic accident that just should not have happened

RIP another farang

[Kasset Tak]

R.I.P.

It will continue like this as long as the Thai version of safety are those signs saying "SAFETY FIRST" and the price for a being responsible for the loss of a life don't get higher.

[razer]

Death Island

[wvavin]

Safety in this country? Fat hope!

[Stupi]

Whatever happened to the "I have a diver down" flag?

All divers in open water should have a float with "Diver Down" flag.

Motor boats should proceed with caution in this area.

[wow64]

Where were the dive flags?

RIP

Simple tourists should stay away from this island if they want to enjoy their next birthday.

[ToddinChonburi]

This is terrible I will have to assume no scuba diving marker put out in the water.

[Don Aleman]

Thai boat operators skills are about on a par with those of Thai helicopter

pilots ! Tragic avoidable loss !

[eddie61]

Copied from the Scuba Junction website.

"Safety and Quality first ….with an eco friendly touch" is our motto.

All our dive groups (courses and fun dives) are limited to maximum 4 divers to ensure close supervision and a more enjoyable time under water.

This poor young girl was entitled to the supervision and safety that she paid for and instead she died through lack of it. The tragedy is even more useless as we all know that after a few days she will be forgotten and it will be business as usual for the incompetents that run the water sports in this country.

R.I.P. Silji.

I would be putting a spotlight on the conduct of the diving course. There are many ways a careful instructor could reduce the risks of this happening to his students, but off course the boat driver also needs to be educated in the code.

[Bloodnut]

Another tragic incident where a young foreign tourist has lost her life most likely due to negligence. Seems the speed boat was a full throttle at impact. Most probably a lack of proper safety at sea training of the speedboat driver. To blame him when he's probably been taught by his big brother is probably not the correct way to deal with this either. Cowboy speedboat and beach operators all lack the proper safety code training to be operating the horsepowers they're driving.

i.e. "Keep a proper watch" "Keep at a safe vessel speed where-ever divers are down" and / or "Always fly a dive flag" "Always deploy a dive sausage and stay close to it while re-surfacing - especially where diving where boats operate" etc. Training, training, training - and 5 year renewal exams etc. is the only way forward IMHO.

It's made sader by the knowledge that it could probably have been prevented with just a little bit of proactive marine park and/or marine department planning and policing. i.e. safer zoning, collision avoidance safety training and some follow up policing for everyone making their living off tourists on (or under) the Thai seas.

The stats don't lie. Where safety is the national priority, laws are training is mandated, laws are enforced and as a direct consequence less innocents die in recreational boating accicdents. This accicent should not have happened. My thoughts are with this young girl's family and friends. RIP Silji.

[yogavnture]

I want thai visa site to post more on this story. as someone that goes to ko tao for a month each year. I want to know more. is the boat driver really going to be prosectuted was it the boat from the dive shop that was servicing her. if so I want that dive shop out of business.

this is unacceptable. for a dive shop to peddle business then slash to death its customers.

ko tao has gotten out of control. totally..............its beyond me why the thai govt cant spend a few bucks to get that island under control.

first step is to not allow drunken behavior their. for instance if you want to come to ko tao after full moon party u cant be drunk on the ferry boat. that's step one.

step two stop all further construction on the island. that island cannot take anymore infrastructure growth. but what do the thais do . built more. its pathetic I have already started to go to other countries instead of Thailand because of this.

the thais are getting greedy. and ko tao is ridiculous. from the motorbike shops that even if you scratch a motorbike they charge u for a new part. MOTORBIKES WEAR OUT. ITS CALLED USAGE. YET THESE IDIOTS MAKE MONEY BY PAYING OFF THE COPS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TOURISTS

I HAVE A PERMANENT KNEE INJURY FROM A MOTORBIKE ACCIDENT ON KO TAO. the roads their have no stop signs or anything. and the roads their are getting more and more crowded with drunken 20 year olds who are stupid

what are the specifics of this story. was she coming up from the dive. where was the instructor and her dive buddy.

note. I have almost been cut down by longtail boats in ko tao myself while I was snorkeling. its a total joke that small island off the coast of ko tao where literally hundreds go snorkeling. in mass............its almost as bad as ko phi phi........where the coral is all dead. no fish but hundreds of snorkelers.

THAILAND IS OVER. THEY HAVE RUINED IT. THAILAND HAS ONLY SO MANY ISLANDS AND EVEN FEWER WITH GOOD WATER VISIBILITY. HAVE THEY DESTROYED SIMILANS YET

[xygote]

Didn't JTJ (or was it JDinAsia?) say that they/he were/was a dive master(s) on KT? Assuming that this wasn't their operation, it would be interesting to get their/his point of view on this tragedy.

[xygote]

Another tragic incident where a young foreign tourist has lost her life most likely due to negligence. Seems the speed boat was a full throttle at impact. Most probably a lack of proper safety at sea training of the speedboat driver. To blame him when he's probably been taught by his big brother is probably not the correct way to deal with this either. Cowboy speedboat and beach operators all lack the proper safety code training to be operating the horsepowers they're driving.

i.e. "Keep a proper watch" "Keep at a safe vessel speed where-ever divers are down" and / or "Always fly a dive flag" "Always deploy a dive sausage and stay close to it while re-surfacing - especially where diving where boats operate" etc. Training, training, training - and 5 year renewal exams etc. is the only way forward IMHO.

It's made sader by the knowledge that it could probably have been prevented with just a little bit of proactive marine park and/or marine department planning and policing. i.e. safer zoning, collision avoidance safety training and some follow up policing for everyone making their living off tourists on (or under) the Thai seas.

The stats don't lie. Where safety is the national priority, laws are training is mandated, laws are enforced and as a direct consequence less innocents die in recreational boating accicdents. This accicent should not have happened. My thoughts are with this young girl's family and friends. RIP Silji.

Damn good point Bloodnut.

When was the last time any of us saw a Policing patrol checking on the conduct and licensing of the boat operators (whether diving, para-sailing, fishing or whatever) on the water?

Once again, this would be good use of some of those tourist dollars but highly unlikely to happen here.

[biplanebluey]

One wonders why the engine was on.

I took it to mean a passing boat, but your point is well made. ............R.I.P.

It does say------"a passing boat"

Anyway obviously too close to dive boat with no regard to safety----- my thoughts go to family to have such a tragedy at a time of year we all think of peace and happiness---RIP young lady

[yogavnture]

Why is it that dive shops are all drunks i dont want to judge scuba junction dive shop. But if you look on their fb page they posted a christmas greeting 3 days ago . And a few of the people (during the day) had a beer in their hand.

As a diver and a non drinker i dont dive in ko tao because a majority of the dive shops their are drunks.

Now i dont want to single out scuba junction. Having a small beer never hurt anyone. But its time the dive shops in ko tao cleaned up thier act..........

As a diver i wont dive on ko tao because its almost impossible to find a dive shop thier that aint drinkers. Its pathetic.

Lets get the facts. And maybe this poor girl . Who trusted the dive shop with her life. Will be an example that maybe now. Finally after all the thai greed and western dive shop that really just care about diving themselves and just use tourists as a meal ticket. Now maybe things will change.

I want more facts on this story. Boats should be watching out for snorkelers not running people over so they can make money . Just go to that island off the coast of ko tao where lomprayah takes hundreds to snorkel each day.

Finally what about jet skis on ko tao. Maybe its time to start to restrict thier activity. They can kill too.. And we all know jet ski people could be drunk

This womans life should be the first step now to change on ko tao and safety dont let her life be lost in vain

[timewilltell]

The Embassies till do far too little to warn tourists of the dangers here in Thailand. A few words on a website no one reads just does not cut it. Then when tourists die because of obvious lack of controls by the authorities and flagrant scams and life threatening behaviour goes on day after day, nothing is said and nothing is done.

Yes the Thai marine police should be more involved but sadly corruption rears its ugly head to override people being properly trained or monitored and scamming continues unabated, nay encouraged by the corruption that is the dancer of this society.

This girl has list her life because of all parties involved being greedy for corruption money, greedy to promote trade in this nation where laws are routinely ignored and with a huge bias against foreigners. Operators employ any Tom Dick or Harry to operate the boats, the cheaper the better, and really could not care one iota if some tourist gets killed. There is nothing to commend anyone with any part in this manslaughter which continues without shame. Disgusting and very sad.

[yogavnture]

I want more facts on this story and i want them now. I want thai visa forum to personally take up this story and follow it. This girls life should at least help future people going to the island . So sorry to her family even as a tourist myself that goes to ko tao im ashamed. And i want to know if the thai govt is spending adequate monies for trauma care on ko tao. How many people have to die on that island before somebody gets a clue. Its like the thais want u to get hurt thier. Money in the pocket for medical care, motorbike repair. This has gotten out of control greed

[yogavnture]

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

[yogavnture]

The nation newspaper gave this story two sentences? Sometimes i wonder if the thai govt. Covers up stories that affect tourists.

For instance thier was a story of a woman on ko lanta a few years ago. She was killed by a box jellyfish. I heard the thai govt. Purposely didnt want that story to get out because it would hurt tourism. The thai govt. Should take peoples saftey as concern one. Now it could be the woman who died from jelly fish was allergic more than the average person to box jellyfish but then i heard box jellyfish were popping up on phuket beaches and the govt was hiding that fact as well. If thier are safety concerns i want the thai govt to freely expose them. Is this a democracy or a communist state

[Boboobowbow]

I can't believe another dive boat operator could be so negligent. Don't they put up flags to notify other boats that divers are in the water.

Are any of these people qualified boat operators or dive instructor's?

RIP young lady.

[media]

very very sad and terrible she must have been petrified when she saw the boat coming back into her.

I bet the driver was not qualified

[KOZMO]

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.

safety precautions in Thailand, never happen!!!!

[yogavnture]

upon further investigation I now see that two Russian divers died in the same province on the same day? they were diving alone. but who gave them air? a dive shop? now I can see if you have proper credentials that a dive shop gives you air. but if you are a newbie , why is a dive shop giving them air. this is ubsurd. 3 deaths due to dive accidents in same province in the same day. is Thailand totally out of control

[cruisemonkey]

Koh Tao - quickly becoming the Island of Death.

You beat me to it.

Poor woman - RIP.

[godden]

Don't mention Koh Thao when buying your travel insurance.

[yogavnture]

hard to get accurate info on this story. but Im wondering if she was alive when taken out of water. the story as I can desipher it says she was hit and went down and divers searched for her for ten minutes to no avail.. well if she truly was hit on head by rotor and she went down for ten minutes she would have drowned. but I see a picture on internet of them working on her on ko tao. was she dead at scene or later. secondly what type of trauma unit do they have on ko tao ... do they have any quality service their? I had a small wart on ko tao which was cancerous and I went to ko samui and I didn't even feel good getting it removed their I ended up going to bkk.

maybe its time the thai govt keeps a helicopter on standby on ko tao for medical emergenices so people can have quality care in bkk. the thai govt will still pocket good money from people getting run over, but at least they will get good care I don't want to be insensitive to this gals death. but darn it when are the thais going to learn, their is so much dangerous activity that takes place on ko tao. medical services need to be improved their. just walking around ko tao u see battle scars daily from motorbike accidents . from drunken tourists. who don't wear shoes on a motorbike let alone a helmet. the thai police on ko tao care more about busting u for a joint than public safety.

[Tingtau]

First 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!!