Norwegian tourist fatally injured by speed boat rotors near Koh Tao

[yogavnture]

according to the vague info I have on this story their were witnesses. apparently she wasn't watching for boats as she went up. and after being hit. divers searched for her for ten minutes before finding her. this story is weird. along with the story of the dead Russian diver (and seriously wounded co diver) who died in the same province in Thailand on the same day! now what are the chances that two divers would die like this on the same day. in the same province. wonder if this has ever happened anywhere in the world . ever. wondering if the Russians got bad air,,, from a dive shop? how else would two guys get sick (one dying ) from a dive. is padi doing their job? we pay for padi protection .

[2fishin2]

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!!

Boats of any kind are the single worst hazard to any person in the water anywhere. Still, the person responsible is the boat driver. A marker bouy is only an attempt at averting an accident much like a person walking in an unlit street wearing a reflective vest.

If an person is walking down the sidewalk and gets hit by a passing car who's at fault? Are you going to say the person walking? Of course not. Same same brothers in the ocean, its the wreckless boat driver.

And oh yeah we are bashing Thais why? Because they kill too many tourists with their stupid antics. How soon we forget....

[ocejanic]

As I wrote in another thread ( where someone was asking about a cheap diving option on Koh Tao) just a few days before this incident:

That is exactly why I don't take job offers in Thailand ( being an MSDT).

[climbertrev1]

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

Another totally avoidable tragedy. I have witnessed many similar incidents fortunately most have been near misses or the injuries minor. I await the outcome ot the boat captain being charged with such a serious offence. I assume the penalty will depend on whom he is related to. If he is well connected he will already be back in the water plying his trade.

[limbos]

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according to the vague info I have on this story their were witnesses. apparently she wasn't watching for boats as she went up. and after being hit. divers searched for her for ten minutes before finding her. this story is weird. along with the story of the dead Russian diver (and seriously wounded co diver) who died in the same province in Thailand on the same day! now what are the chances that two divers would die like this on the same day. in the same province. wonder if this has ever happened anywhere in the world . ever. wondering if the Russians got bad air,,, from a dive shop? how else would two guys get sick (one dying ) from a dive. is padi doing their job? we pay for padi protection .

First of all RIP to the Norwegian girl. This is a sad accident.

Regarding the two Russian divers, that happened a day before the Koh Tao incident and from the information I gathered from news articles, at least one of the deceased divers was diving on a rebreather. The other deceased diver supposedly died of DCI, possibly a fast ascent which can cause an AGE or arterial gas embolism, it's unclear to me from the information given what they died of exactly.

Regarding the Koh Tao case, it;s sad and possibly avoidable. However, calling Koh Tao an island of death is a bit strange in my humble opinion. Considering the amount of dives conducted over a full year around Koh Tao, the incident rate seems to be fairly low. Especially considering that this one of the highest certification areas in the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning whatever happened but I think it also needs to be put in perspective. Most likely the deceased girl and her family will not bother too much about 'this perspective' though.

From what I read on CSI LA's Facebook page, the accident happened at a very shallow dive site;

The incident happened in the late noon at the diving location called Tao Tong (Golden Turtle). This location can be visited only 1 month per year during the monsoon season. This is why, there were a lot of divers there than usual during the monsoon season. The cause of accident came from the diving boat owned by Pura Vida diving school. Their boat was too big for the spot which is only 3 meter deep. Their boat's depth alone is already 2 meter in depth. That's why, it's was very easy for the propeller to hit unsuspected divers. The owners never attended diving operators safety meeting in Koh Tao.

After this incident, Para Vida Facebook page act as if there wasn't anything happen. There was condolence message to the victim. Since the news didn't mention the responsible party, I just wanted CSI LA members to know what happened. Thank you.

[basatop]

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?

KohTao is haunted...

[limbos]

There's an update on the Chiew Larn/Rajjaphra dam incident in the Nation, not sure if this link is allowed.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

It says Russian died from heart failure.

Diving buoys

I've dived all over the world, many boat/jetski drivers don't know what they are, and often use them as targets.

When you're diving, you have to be aware of boats, where they are, and where they are going (you can hear them, and see them).

Best to ascend your own anchor rope. Not exclusively a Thai problem.

Edited December 25, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[limbos]

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It says Russian died from heart failure.

Diving buoys

I've dived all over the world, many boat/jetski drivers don't know what they are, and often use them as targets.

When you're diving, you have to be aware of boats, where they are, and where they are going (you can hear them, and see them).

Best to ascend your own anchor rope. Not exclusively a Thai problem.

Excuse, where exactly in my previous pot's link does it say that the Russian divers dies of heart failure?

The unfortunate girl in the Koh Tao incident was at beginners level training, I doubt that she was familiar with what the various sounds under water mean, in this case a very nearby boat propeller.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

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

It says Russian died from heart failure.

Diving buoys

I've dived all over the world, many boat/jetski drivers don't know what they are, and often use them as targets.

When you're diving, you have to be aware of boats, where they are, and where they are going (you can hear them, and see them).

Best to ascend your own anchor rope. Not exclusively a Thai problem.

Excuse, where exactly in my previous pot's link does it say that the Russian divers dies of heart failure?

The unfortunate girl in the Koh Tao incident was at beginners level training, I doubt that she was familiar with what the various sounds under water mean, in this case a very nearby boat propeller.

Up to her instructor to protect her.

Russian - search the news, it's there.

Edited December 25, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[limbos]

So you claim something without valid link and when questioned about it it's up to the questioner to find a link. Great way of defending your statement. Even if one Russian had a heart failure, that still leaves one Russian diver's death unexplained. Any links to that possibly?

[Wan123]

Every year people die due to reckless seamanship on the part of boat or jet ski enthusiasts. EVERY ONE OF THE INCIDENTS WAS PREVENTABLE.

THAILAND MUST PASS A LAW FOR BOATING AND DIVING AREAS REGARDING THE USE OF BOATS:

LEAVE NO WAKE or 20,000 dollar fine

[Wan123]

Thats 20,000 bhat fine!

Also, divers could start doing coral dives in areas populated with water traffic by towing dive flags with a 50 foot no approach law.

It would be so easy for Thailand to make this a safety conscious effort.

[kaobang]

"The incident happened in the late noon at the diving location called Tao Tong (Golden Turtle). This location can be visited only 1 month per year during the monsoon season. This is why, there were a lot of divers there than usual during the monsoon season. The cause of accident came from the diving boat owned by Pura Vida diving school. Their boat was too big for the spot which is only 3 meter deep. Their boat's depth alone is already 2 meter in depth. That's why, it's was very easy for the propeller to hit unsuspected divers. The owner of Pura Vida are 2 Spanish guys named Zigor and Oscar. These 2 never attended diving operators safety meeting in Koh Tao."

[Tropicalevo]

Every year people die due to reckless seamanship on the part of boat or jet ski enthusiasts. EVERY ONE OF THE INCIDENTS WAS PREVENTABLE.

THAILAND MUST PASS A LAW FOR BOATING AND DIVING AREAS REGARDING THE USE OF BOATS:

LEAVE NO WAKE or 20,000 dollar fine

Waste of time for Thailand to pass a new law. The visitors, ex pats and locals mostly ignore the existing ones and then blame the police, government, locals when things go wrong.

[kiwikeith]

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.

Well said, no one will face disciplinary action over obvious negligence, lod doh taxis the same it's more important to bust top police with billions of baht encroaching on others territory, that's probably why they were busted.

[Burnleylad]

I have never read so much crap about Koh Tao than on this thread....unbelievable....the FACTS have not been released and yet people are so quick to speculate.....I guess all the Koh Tao haters have just been given another nail to put in the coffin!!!

[kaobang]

I have never read so much crap about Koh Tao than on this thread....unbelievable....the FACTS have not been released and yet people are so quick to speculate.....I guess all the Koh Tao haters have just been given another nail to put in the coffin!!!

watch your mouth.nobody hates koh tao here.someone hates the mafia who runs koh tao

http://mikeestravels.com/2014/09/25/the-dark-side-of-thailands-island-paradise/

[futsukayoi]

"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."

-------

I would be surprised if this is the case. I have dived with instructors and dive masters trained by Scuba Junction and they have all been extremely competent, very professional and always do a 3 min safety stop with an orange float deployed. Eespecially with the boat driver being arrested for recklessness I would think it more likely that the boat was too fast an did not see or ignored the safety float warning. Alternatively the diver could have lost her group in bad viz an followed the rules by surfacing after not being located in 1 min. Sure people on Tao at the moment will know for sure.

[yogavnture]

just an unverified update. I heard one of the western dive instructors on site during this accident, committed suicide, via pills, etc.........I heard this thru a dive supplier on ko tao. AND I ALSO HEARD thru another dive shop that the death was partially the womans own fault as she did an ascent that was uncontrolled. this info is from ko tao dive shops so I cant say how accurate the info is. of course ko tao dive shops will want to protect their bread and butter which is stupid , drunk farang that want to dive on death island

[angiolo]

I have dived a lot in Greece. The port police demanded that we towed a yellow float visible on the surface as we dived. Should be the same at the diving islands here

[Basil B]

I have dived a lot in Greece. The port police demanded that we towed a yellow float visible on the surface as we dived. Should be the same at the diving islands here

Just impractical towing SMB's all the time as this will lead to entanglement, imagine doing wreak penetration towing a SMB.

SMB's have there uses; when surfacing and drift dives, dive areas should be zoned, big fines for boats and jet-ski's entering the zone, dive boats mooring at designated places on the edge of a zone, if they need to drop anchor this should be on sand and not reefs as I have seen far too often.

[Johnny S]

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.

As a diving Instructor in Thailand, I have seen boats running circles around those floats just for fun, not understanding the dangers.

Also I have seen speed boat Captains drive their boats straight through a number of Diving boats anchored and with divers and floats in the surrounding waters.

So thais drive boat as they drive cars - like maniacs ...

[yogavnture]

im in phillipines and met a couple that wouldn't go to ko tao because they felt some sort of death gang their. and p.s.. I heard that one of the farang workers on the dive boat on the fateful voyage. committed suicide on samui by overdose because of distraught over this accident. this is a second hand story from ko tao dive supplier

[evadgib]

1 hour ago, norInfo said:

Dive-master/Instructor responsible for the dive is a British National, managed to get his passport back and has left Thailand, as of now, not to be found.

Should be put now be put in front of a court in Thailand, PADI has kicked him out of their organization.

He did not have any work-permit in Thailand, working there illegally.

 

So Dive-master is alive and has run away from his responsibility

Pursuing PADI and/or the company would seem a better option but I wouldn't be optimistic either way. As for the DM; If no restrictions were placed upon him as part of this investigation he was entirely at liberty to do as he pleases re travel & geographic location.

 

RIP to the deceased & condolences to her family.

Edited January 15, 2018 by evadgib

[Spectator2020]

My condolences to the parents and also Silje's friend who experienced seeing her companion fatally injured.

 

It must be so hard to get closure when there seems to be no proper investigation and the trial is up in the air.  I guess the Ricky Collins in this picture is the same guy who was in charge of Silje's dive lesson?

 

Not much information out there.

 

RIP Silje

Edited January 25, 2018 by Spectator2020
did not make sense

[evadgib]

#148 

Quote

If no restrictions were placed upon him as part of this investigation he was entirely at liberty to do as he pleases re travel & geographic location.

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by evadgib

[Spectator2020]

3 hours ago, evadgib said:

#148 

If no restrictions were placed upon him as part of this investigation he was entirely at liberty to do as he pleases re travel & geographic location.

Information is extremely hard to come by.

 

It is understandable that Ricky Collins might not wish to face the court on Koh Samui.

 

He was supposed to have been charged with a serious offence of being negligent resulting in death.  It seems odd that he would not have faced travel restrictions.  People have had to surrender their passports who were facing far less serious charges.  The BBC journalist Jonathan Head was without his passport over defamation charges brought by a Phuket lawyer that were dropped on the first day of his trial. 

 

I think we all need a lot more information about what has happened and what is likely to happen.

 

Most rational farangs would quickly leave Thailand in Ricky's position (and would prefer to stay away).  However, the present situation does nothing to instill confidence in the tourism industry in Thailand in general and on Koh Tao in particular and creates unnecessary stress for the Mathisen family who lost 22-year-old Silje in horrific and completely avoidable circumstances.  

 

Thailand has some explaining to do.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Spectator2020
insert quote

[scubascuba3]

Information is extremely hard to come by.
 
It is understandable that Ricky Collins might not wish to face the court on Koh Samui.
 
He was supposed to have been charged with a serious offence of being negligent resulting in death.  It seems odd that he would not have faced travel restrictions.  People have had to surrender their passports who were facing far less serious charges.  The BBC journalist Jonathan Head was without his passport over defamation charges brought by a Phuket lawyer that were dropped on the first day of his trial. 
 
I think we all need a lot more information about what has happened and what is likely to happen.
 
Most rational farangs would quickly leave Thailand in Ricky's position (and would prefer to stay away).  However, the present situation does nothing to instill confidence in the tourism industry in Thailand in general and on Koh Tao in particular and creates unnecessary stress for the Mathisen family who lost 22-year-old Silje in horrific and completely avoidable circumstances.  
 
Thailand has some explaining to do.

Blaming one divemaster would be scapegoating, what he did was probably what every other divemaster was doing. Safety procedures are sloppy everywhere. If there are criminal charges the owner should be included.

[Spectator2020]

“Safety procedures are sloppy everywhere.”

 

The good mayor of Koh Tao, Khun Chaiyan Turasakal will get very cranky indeed if he reads that comment.

 

He routinely blames all tourists for their own tragedies just because he can point to some examples of tourists who act recklessly.

 

Rule No 1. It’s the tourists’ fault.

 

Rule No 2. When it’s not the tourists’ fault refer back to Rule No 1.