Thai Police Offer Reward For Missing British Tourist

[george]

Thai police offer reward for missing British tourist

BANGKOK: -- Thai police Saturday offered a reward for any sighting - dead or alive - of a British law student who went missing while white-water rafting near the holiday island of Phuket.

The search for the student Shenaz Kapoor, 22, from Dundee, Scotland, started when she fell in the fast-running water Tuesday at a popular rafting spot, but has been hampered by bad weather.

The local authorities attempted without much success use a local dam to reduce the water flow so that a thorough search of the river might be possible.

Kapoor is the second foreign national to have been lost while white-water rafting in Thailand within a week. The body of a Canadian woman was recovered from the Pai River in the north last Monday.

Kapoor had used part of her year off to work with Tsunami orphans in southern Thailand and was due to start the final year of a law degree at Dundee University in September. The incident happened in the Ton Parawat national park at Pha Ngan.

A local police spokesman told Thai radio that a 20,000-baht (500 dollars) reward had been offered to encourage local people to keep their eyes open because it was important to the family that they know without doubt the fate of the young woman.

Her grandfather, Ibrahim Okhai, is the head of the prominent Okhai business family in Dundee. She was a leading figure in her university's Islamic Society.

Okhai told the local Herald newspaper that the family had not given up hope: 'We gave her some spending money for the trip but she only used a fraction of it and gave the rest away. That's the type of person she is.'

Robin White, her university course adviser, told the Scotsman that 'Shenaz was not only a gifted student, she was also a very popular figure within the school, and she will be sadly missed by us all at the university.'

--DPA 2006-08-19

[fruittbatt]

Very sad and condolences to her family if she has drowned as seems most likely...Shenaz Kapoor sounds like a great person. Hope this story of her generosity and social concern may help to break down some of the stereotyping of Muslims which seems to predominate on TV posts.

[MyPenRye]

Very sad and condolences to her family if she has drowned as seems most likely...Shenaz Kapoor sounds like a great person. Hope this story of her generosity and social concern may help to break down some of the stereotyping of Muslims which seems to predominate on TV posts.

It is a sad story.

One wonders if regulations in the rafting industry do not need to be tightened up a little.

This woman seemed to be a kind woman, I agree, although --to be fair-- one might say that it is easier to be generous when you have a million in your pocket than when you don't! However, to her credit, she did help out!

I hope someone finds her alive, but the odds are poor.

It is indeed good news to hear that she was a muslim woman. It shows once again that skin colour or faith does not make you a bad or good person. Seeing the world in black and white usually is the issue, however.

PS: I never got pocket money when I was 22 from my parents and I was not able to go to Thailand for a year.

Edited August 19, 2006 by MyPenRye

[sonnyJ]

Yes rafting regulations, all regulations should have been upgrated so long time ago.

Another blow to tourism.

How a bout weather/related warnings to be announced daily. Seems to be impossible for these people to handle. It's all money, money, money.

Edited August 19, 2006 by sonnyJ

[VTR1000]

Thai police offer reward for missing British tourist

BANGKOK: -- Thai police Saturday offered a reward for any sighting - dead or alive - of a British law student who went missing while white-water rafting near the holiday island of Phuket.

The search for the student Shenaz Kapoor, 22, from Dundee, Scotland, started when she fell in the fast-running water Tuesday at a popular rafting spot, but has been hampered by bad weather.

The local authorities attempted without much success use a local dam to reduce the water flow so that a thorough search of the river might be possible.

Kapoor is the second foreign national to have been lost while white-water rafting in Thailand within a week. The body of a Canadian woman was recovered from the Pai River in the north last Monday.

Kapoor had used part of her year off to work with Tsunami orphans in southern Thailand and was due to start the final year of a law degree at Dundee University in September. The incident happened in the Ton Parawat national park at Pha Ngan.

A local police spokesman told Thai radio that a 20,000-baht (500 dollars) reward had been offered to encourage local people to keep their eyes open because it was important to the family that they know without doubt the fate of the young woman.

Her grandfather, Ibrahim Okhai, is the head of the prominent Okhai business family in Dundee. She was a leading figure in her university's Islamic Society.

Okhai told the local Herald newspaper that the family had not given up hope: 'We gave her some spending money for the trip but she only used a fraction of it and gave the rest away. That's the type of person she is.'

Robin White, her university course adviser, told the Scotsman that 'Shenaz was not only a gifted student, she was also a very popular figure within the school, and she will be sadly missed by us all at the university.'

--DPA 2006-08-19

Yes, a very sad story and unfortunately the way it looks, an unfortunate end to a young person in the prime of their life.

As an aside though - are the press getting things a little mixed up here? Since when have Shenaz Kapoor and/or Ibrahim Okhai been Scottish names?

McKapoor or MacOkhai maybe ... but ...

[Alreadyinuse]

Thai police offer reward for missing British tourist

BANGKOK: -- Thai police Saturday offered a reward for any sighting - dead or alive - of a British law student who went missing while white-water rafting near the holiday island of Phuket.

The search for the student Shenaz Kapoor, 22, from Dundee, Scotland, started when she fell in the fast-running water Tuesday at a popular rafting spot, but has been hampered by bad weather.

The local authorities attempted without much success use a local dam to reduce the water flow so that a thorough search of the river might be possible.

Kapoor is the second foreign national to have been lost while white-water rafting in Thailand within a week. The body of a Canadian woman was recovered from the Pai River in the north last Monday.

Kapoor had used part of her year off to work with Tsunami orphans in southern Thailand and was due to start the final year of a law degree at Dundee University in September. The incident happened in the Ton Parawat national park at Pha Ngan.

A local police spokesman told Thai radio that a 20,000-baht (500 dollars) reward had been offered to encourage local people to keep their eyes open because it was important to the family that they know without doubt the fate of the young woman.

Her grandfather, Ibrahim Okhai, is the head of the prominent Okhai business family in Dundee. She was a leading figure in her university's Islamic Society.

Okhai told the local Herald newspaper that the family had not given up hope: 'We gave her some spending money for the trip but she only used a fraction of it and gave the rest away. That's the type of person she is.'

Robin White, her university course adviser, told the Scotsman that 'Shenaz was not only a gifted student, she was also a very popular figure within the school, and she will be sadly missed by us all at the university.'

--DPA 2006-08-19

Yes, a very sad story and unfortunately the way it looks, an unfortunate end to a young person in the prime of their life.

[/b]As an aside though - are the press getting things a little mixed up here? Since when have Shenaz Kapoor and/or Ibrahim Okhai been Scottish names?

McKapoor or MacOkhai maybe ... but ...

Most likely since they either migrated to Scotland or changed and got Islamic names. Did you read the article. She was a leading figure in her university's Islamic Society.

Edited August 19, 2006 by Alreadyinuse

[backflip]

"I never got pocket money when I was 22 from my parents and I was not able to go to Thailand for a year."

Gosh, My PenRye, that's a real shame. We all feel so sorry for you.

[seri thai]

I dont wish or intend to be disrespectful to the family but I should point out that arabic, like thai translations, can be rendered differently and therefore Mr Okhai's family might also be written as Och Aye.

Which would make them Scots surely?

(and the scots newspapers report them as scots too)

[brahmburgers]

one would expect, even in Thailand, for all rafting outfitters to mandate bright orange life jackets for every client. If so, she'd likely be alive - and certainly easy to find - either way. A helmet should be an additional common sense requirement - but maybe that's too much to expect in maipenrai land. where everyone (in my town) immediatly takes their motorbike helmets off at 5 pm every day, and all day Sundays because that's when the cops don't give a hoot.

Edited August 19, 2006 by brahmburgers

[bubba]

one would expect, even in Thailand, for all rafting outfitters to mandate bright orange life jackets for every client. If so, she'd likely be alive - and certainly easy to find - either way. A helmet should be an additional common sense requirement - but maybe that's too much to expect in maipenrai land. where everyone (in my town) immediatly takes their motorbike helmets off at 5 pm every day, and all day Sundays because that's when the cops don't give a hoot.

I cannot speak for the rafting operation in Phanga, but insofar as the drowing of the Canadian woman on the rafting trip in Pai: The two major whitewater rafting operations in Pai are extremely professionally run. One is run by a French expat with more than 20 years of experience. Yes, they always use safety gear and I know they take every precaution and implement safety procedures that would meet European or North American standards. Unfortunately, even in the safest of conditions, accidents can happen. It is also unfortunate when such accidents do happen, so many people begin howling about how such activties in Thailand have no safety standards and regulations are not adequate, not enforced, etc.

[thomas3940]

Do they have any regulations here in Thailand?

Very sad and condolences to her family if she has drowned as seems most likely...Shenaz Kapoor sounds like a great person. Hope this story of her generosity and social concern may help to break down some of the stereotyping of Muslims which seems to predominate on TV posts.

It is a sad story.

One wonders if regulations in the rafting industry do not need to be tightened up a little.

This woman seemed to be a kind woman, I agree, although --to be fair-- one might say that it is easier to be generous when you have a million in your pocket than when you don't! However, to her credit, she did help out!

I hope someone finds her alive, but the odds are poor.

It is indeed good news to hear that she was a muslim woman. It shows once again that skin colour or faith does not make you a bad or good person. Seeing the world in black and white usually is the issue, however.

PS: I never got pocket money when I was 22 from my parents and I was not able to go to Thailand for a year.

[Galong]

The whitewater rafting area in Ton Pariwat (not Parawat) is in a ditch. The water is held back by a dam that the locals made.

I recall another person dying in this ditch a couple of years ago. This time it was a Malaysian guy who was obese. The rafting company didn't have a life jacket or a helmet that fit him, but they let him go anyway. Oh, and he said he couldn't swim, but that didn't stop them either.

I was in Chiang Mai last summer. The water was high and I watched rafts going down the Mae Teng river. I watched raft after raft go through a very tough set of rapids. The Thai guides didn't have life jackets nor helmets!! I guess that's supposed to be cool or something.

Whitewater rafting is dangerous even with properly trained guides. Each year in the US, there are rafting fatalities. The Thais should not be allowed to be guides unless they are properly trained and if seen not breaking safety regulations they should be fired immediately.

The company that killed this girl should be examined and put on probation. Better yet, they should be heavily fined and their license suspended for some period.

[kmart]

.

The company that killed this girl should be examined and put on probation. Better yet, they should be heavily fined and their license suspended for some period.

Rubbish. People go rafting because of the danger and adrenaline thrill. There is inherent danger that cannot be totally contained by the operators, ie; you are somewhat open to the forces of nature, and the raft does not run on rails. If you do go over the side, you may hit rocks and / or drown. That is the thrill / attraction to a lot of people.

The company didn't want to kill her. Sh*t happens.

[Martin]

I used to do both commercialised white water rafting (as a 'fare-paying passenger', like this young woman was) and survey rafting (in which we rafted rivers that hadn't been rafted before, or only rarely, by 'go-it-alone' groups).

In both cases we did what we could to give ourselves the best chance of coming back alive.

But that is all that can ever be said about white-water rafting---and some other adventurous activities, like mountaineering.

Don't sneer at those Thai raft-steersmen for not wearing a helmet and a flotation aid. A good swimmer has more ability to help a client who is overboard and in trouble without those encumbrances than when wearing them.

But the story of the obese client is appalling. The company should be put out of business, and that client put in a lunatic asylum. Both are a menace to all who have anything to do with them.

[markg]

Oh my god. This is terrible news. I live in Phuket and didnt know about this...........

Lets hope she was wearing a life jacket, hopefully a brightly coloured one, which might make finding the body alive.

Also - there are 2 types of life jackets, and the cheaper ones, whilst keeping you afloat, would also tend to tip you forwards. So if you were unconcious, you would drown.

The industry needs to look at this maybe?

[nikster]

one would expect, even in Thailand, for all rafting outfitters to mandate bright orange life jackets for every client. If so, she'd likely be alive - and certainly easy to find - either way. A helmet should be an additional common sense requirement - but maybe that's too much to expect in maipenrai land. where everyone (in my town) immediatly takes their motorbike helmets off at 5 pm every day, and all day Sundays because that's when the cops don't give a hoot.

I cannot speak for the rafting operation in Phanga, but insofar as the drowing of the Canadian woman on the rafting trip in Pai: The two major whitewater rafting operations in Pai are extremely professionally run. One is run by a French expat with more than 20 years of experience. Yes, they always use safety gear and I know they take every precaution and implement safety procedures that would meet European or North American standards. Unfortunately, even in the safest of conditions, accidents can happen. It is also unfortunate when such accidents do happen, so many people begin howling about how such activties in Thailand have no safety standards and regulations are not adequate, not enforced, etc.

Both very sad and tragic incidents. I did some rafting in the U.S. and it's just one of those sports that are extremely dangerous. It's one of those things that are all fun and easy and happy unless something happens but if something happens you can die very easily.

It takes only 3 minutes under water and you are dead. So if you fall in, and happen to get caught in a strainer - strong current getting strained by branches - then there is almost nothing you can do to save yourself. And the rafting guide has exactly 3 minutes to find you and pull you out - which isn't easy under the best of circumstances, either.

My condolences.

[tracer0]

Yes, a very sad story and unfortunately the way it looks, an unfortunate end to a young person in the prime of their life.

As an aside though - are the press getting things a little mixed up here? Since when have Shenaz Kapoor and/or Ibrahim Okhai been Scottish names?

McKapoor or MacOkhai maybe ... but ...

Likely imported from India...

Since it happened on tuesday and its now saturday one can asume she is dead I guess.

Easy to yell for regulations, one need maybe more safety and anyway who organised this rafting, Thais or a farang? If done by Thais they arent interested in regulations, they cost money.Some years ago a dive boat, Thai owned, left before last crew member was on board and that guy was chopped into minced crew by the screw. Ended up in the newspapers that it was a speedboat except that the Thai dive company had the bad luck one of the divers onboard read it via the internet and wrote back about it. Nothing happened as far as I know. Accident.... Now if that had been a farang company.....chopping up a Thai crewmember....

Regulations can be good but wgats the use insisting on a Thai Captain when those certificates can be bought? They had a Thai owned fishing tour boat who was on the way to India and had to ask a normal Thai fishing boat, 'where is Pheuket'. To miss Phuket from maybe 50 km away is an art and the divers noticed it as they had compasses in their gear and were due to start another course in the afternoon... I guess the thai company hadnt heard the last of it as the customer happened to be a rich Thai taking friends on the trip as his birthday party....

[skippybangkok]

Was white water rafting last october Pai -> Mae Sai. Water was good when we went, but I saw the results of the flooding in Pai.... I can imagine the strength of the water if it rained heavy....not a good idea for new-bies to raft.

[thaigene2]

I dont wish or intend to be disrespectful to the family but I should point out that arabic, like thai translations, can be rendered differently and therefore Mr Okhai's family might also be written as Och Aye.

Which would make them Scots surely?

(and the scots newspapers report them as scots too)

That's a wee bit too cynical laddy..

[benw10]

[

surely they as individuals irespective of name may be considered scots.

name=VTR1000' date='2006-08-19 20:29:37' post='856384]

Thai police offer reward for missing British tourist

BANGKOK: -- Thai police Saturday offered a reward for any sighting - dead or alive - of a British law student who went missing while white-water rafting near the holiday island of Phuket.

The search for the student Shenaz Kapoor, 22, from Dundee, Scotland, started when she fell in the fast-running water Tuesday at a popular rafting spot, but has been hampered by bad weather.

The local authorities attempted without much success use a local dam to reduce the water flow so that a thorough search of the river might be possible.

Kapoor is the second foreign national to have been lost while white-water rafting in Thailand within a week. The body of a Canadian woman was recovered from the Pai River in the north last Monday.

Kapoor had used part of her year off to work with Tsunami orphans in southern Thailand and was due to start the final year of a law degree at Dundee University in September. The incident happened in the Ton Parawat national park at Pha Ngan.

A local police spokesman told Thai radio that a 20,000-baht (500 dollars) reward had been offered to encourage local people to keep their eyes open because it was important to the family that they know without doubt the fate of the young woman.

Her grandfather, Ibrahim Okhai, is the head of the prominent Okhai business family in Dundee. She was a leading figure in her university's Islamic Society.

Okhai told the local Herald newspaper that the family had not given up hope: 'We gave her some spending money for the trip but she only used a fraction of it and gave the rest away. That's the type of person she is.'

Robin White, her university course adviser, told the Scotsman that 'Shenaz was not only a gifted student, she was also a very popular figure within the school, and she will be sadly missed by us all at the university.'

--DPA 2006-08-19

Yes, a very sad story and unfortunately the way it looks, an unfortunate end to a young person in the prime of their life.

As an aside though - are the press getting things a little mixed up here? Since when have Shenaz Kapoor and/or Ibrahim Okhai been Scottish names?

McKapoor or MacOkhai maybe ... but ...

[Briggsy]

Is there a website similar to "iraq body count" which logs and therefore counts farang deaths in Thailand. I'm sure there would be an interest and it might prod various authorities to tighten up some of the most dangerous instances of ignoring safety regulations. It could be a moneyspinner too!

[Zoltan]

Where do people think they are going ..........its not the ferris wheel at the amusement park.

[Briggsy]

Where do people think they are going ..........its not the ferris wheel at the amusement park.

There's currently a ferris wheel at Suan Lum Night Bazaar. I bet that's dodgy too.

[Briggsy]

Is there a website similar to "iraq body count" which logs and therefore counts farang deaths in Thailand. I'm sure there would be an interest and it might prod various authorities to tighten up some of the most dangerous instances of ignoring safety regulations. It could be a moneyspinner too!

I am pleased to announce that the address 'farangbodycount.com' is still available. Any takers?

[booma]

I am curious to identifying the nationality of the victim of the Pia incident. The article here, and in the BKK Post, claims she was Canadian but I have been told, by someone who works within the rafting industry in Pia and a friend of the girl involved, that she was Dutch!

I can also add, with regards to safety, that the company responsible for this ill-fated excursion is the most prominent rafting business in the area. They, allegedly, did not provide safety helmets nor any rescue ropes on this trip, leaving little hope for any person that falls into rough waters! The owner of this enterprise is not Thai.

B

[meemiathai]

First my condolences to the family.

Each year in the US, there are rafting fatalities.

Why?

The Thais should not be allowed to be guides unless they are properly trained and if seen not breaking safety regulations they should be fired immediately.

I'm sure that applies to the chinks as well. What about the japs? What about the Yanks and the Brits?

I took part in water rafting in Phang Na a few years ago. They did provide a helmet and a life-jacket. For me, wearing a helmet is good but life-jackets aren't of much use to me. It was just to make me clumsier if I do actually fall. The guides were strong and professional. I went also to mountain climbing and everything was of professional standard.

So I don't know what all the bashings are about. Are those who are yelling actually the ones who sit their fat <deleted> all day in front of the computers with beer in their hands? I bet you wear seabelts at the same time!

We are talking about some extreme sports here and accidents happen mcuh easier than you imagine in REALITY!

If you actually know something, then say so! If not, shut up! It's unfair!

Everytime something happens, people look for someone to blame! That's ridiculous!

[craigt3365]

I did the rafting in Pai a few years ago. Very professional and did everything they could to make sure we were safe. The guides were Thai, with the main one being European (French?). And they were fantastic.

But, as you say, it is dangerous! Therefore, a risk. Sad this happened, but it is a risky thing to do. Fun, fun, fun...but risky.

I do hope they find her....

[beammeup]

Do they have any regulations here in Thailand?

Very sad and condolences to her family if she has drowned as seems most likely...Shenaz Kapoor sounds like a great person. Hope this story of her generosity and social concern may help to break down some of the stereotyping of Muslims which seems to predominate on TV posts.

It is a sad story.

One wonders if regulations in the rafting industry do not need to be tightened up a little.

This woman seemed to be a kind woman, I agree, although --to be fair-- one might say that it is easier to be generous when you have a million in your pocket than when you don't! However, to her credit, she did help out!

I hope someone finds her alive, but the odds are poor.

It is indeed good news to hear that she was a muslim woman. It shows once again that skin colour or faith does not make you a bad or good person. Seeing the world in black and white usually is the issue, however.

PS: I never got pocket money when I was 22 from my parents and I was not able to go to Thailand for a year.

Have you ever seen a construction sight??

[Gatorade]

Was white water rafting last october Pai -> Mae Sai. Water was good when we went, but I saw the results of the flooding in Pai.... I can imagine the strength of the water if it rained heavy....not a good idea for new-bies to raft.

I think that the rafting site is the same one that we went on 2 years ago. Nine of us and 3 to a raft.

None of us had any experience and we each had a "skipper". It all looked very sedate, a river meandering gently down the mountain, we all thought it would be a relaxing sort of affair.

Luckily we all put on life jackets although there was no pressure to do so.

However, once we were in the rubber rafts a sluice gate in the reservoir was opened up behind us, it was virtually instantly white water and we hurtled off downstream. It was all good fun at first, big adrenalin rush. But our skippers tried to outdo each other in bouncing us off the rocks!

One of the rafts turned over and two out of the three managed to make it to the side. We could not find the 3rd member and guessed that he might be trapped under the capsized raft. Luckily he was, but had been knocked out and had been keel hauled down the river. Our rescue attempts were initially hampered by our life jackets and it was the "skippers" who finally got him out in a very poor condition. getting him medical help and to a hospital was a nightmare.

Had we known what we were in for none of us would have considered it. The situation was made worse by the competitive spirit of the skippers. Just amazing how quickly everything went wrong!

[astral]

A sad event.

Is this really the Thai Police offering a reward,

or the family???

I can't say I have seen the Thai Police giving away money before.