Spanish tourist killed in fall from waterfall

[Thaivisa News]

Chiang Mai:- A Spanish tourist was fatally injured when he fell from a popular waterfall in Chiang Mai Thursday, police said.

Pol Capt Natthawat Khuenkaew, an officer on duty of Chang Phuek police station in Chiang Mai, said rescuers could not reach Carlos Gabriel, 28, in time to save him .

Natthawat said Gabriel slipped and fell from the third platform of the Monthathan Waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park while he was stepping on the edge to take photos of the falling water. Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

Natthawat said he and rescuers rushed to the scene with ropes and rock climbing gears as well as a rescue stretcher.

The waterfall is about one kilometer deep in a forest and is part of a high cliff. The part of the cliff is made of sharp and complicated layers of rock, making it hard for rescuers to climb to the spot where Gabriel was trapped.

Natthawat said when rescuers reached him, Gabriel had already died of severe injuries. The rescuers took more than an hour to bring his body down.

His girlfriend told police that the two visited the waterfall and climbed to the third platform. Then, Gabriel stepped to the edge to try to have a good view of the waterfall and take its photos.

However, the rock was slippery so he fell down and was washed downstream until he was trapped on the second platform of the waterfall. The girlfriend then called for help from park officials.

His body was sent for an autopsy at the Maharaj Chiang Mai Hospital.

[Costas2008]

May he Rests in Peace.

So many times I've seen tourists and Thais trying to get photos of waterfalls by hanging at the edge of the cliff.

I'm surprised that not many accidents have happened up to now.

They should invest more on safety measures and not only to charge Thais and foreigners (double).

But nothing will happen.......as usual.........

[HeijoshinCool]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

[Maejo Man]

Natthawat said Gabriel slipped and fell from the third platform of the Monthathan Waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park

It would take the police from Chang Puek nick about 2 hours plus to get to Dio Inthanon and Montatathan waterfall in half way up Doi Suthep!!

As usual, bang on reporting

[Puwa]

I know someone who died in a similar fall at the same spot a few years ago. The park officials did a really good job handling the incident and with the family when they came. The head of the park himself came along and hiked up to the falls, about an hour up from the parking lot. I was along to translate. So, yes, it can be a dangerous place, but actually there are warning signs posted, and tourists have to use some common sense.

[Beng]

This waterfall is in Doi Suthep NP, not Doi Inthanon. RIP Carlos.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

Edited March 27, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Chicog]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

You can't fight Darwin.

[Maggusoil]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

Lets not follow countries like Australia, where by now you would have to wear a yellow life jacket, special boots, a harness and then get a licence to go there and have the track boarded up with yellow and black signs saying Dangerous 200 foot sheer drop. Beware of falling Koalas!

[Foreign Hiker]

RIP Carlos. Really sucks to be his family right now.

[Foreign Hiker]

I will clarify a few details of the account.

I don't blame the fall on the park officials at all. It is a wild mountain place. Stuff like this happens.

Every single foreigner who was on site was distressed by the pace and attitude of the rescue response.

Police did arrive early. They did absolutely nothing. No one in a police uniform made any memorable contribution to the rescue effort. The first couple police officers arrived on the scene long before any other rescue personnel did, and they just stood there. They made no effort to find the girl or talk to her and no effort to even look for the man who had fallen.

The first people to search for the man were three foreigners - from Jordan, Syria, and America. They went up and tried to find the man despite Thai officials telling them not to. One of those three didn't even get to the scene until AFTER the police got there, and yet he was the first one to get as close as possible to the man without rock-climbing/harness equipment. Until that moment, none of the Thai police or officials even knew whether the man could be reached, yet they were all still standing around at the bottom of the falls.

I'll repeat that - when the officials arrived on the scene, they couldn't see the man and couldn't know for sure where he was, yet the first officials there made no effort to look for him.

Within 30 minutes, a large number of Thai officials had arrived. They were in police uniforms, military uniforms, medic gear (blue shirted), and some sort of emergency response (orange shirted). Most of them stood around doing nothing. The stretcher that was mentioned in the story just sat lying on the ground for 30 minutes. Eventually the orange shirts and some military went up to the scene (a good 15-20 minutes after the foreigners had already tried), and they very, very slowly began setting up ropes to get in. There was a guy standing with ropes on at least 10 minutes before he made a move to try to get to the man. The foreigners watching expressed a great deal of frustration that everyone seemed to be standing around and the rescue proceeded at a snail's pace.

During this time, quite a few of the Thai first responders spent their time snapping photos. One military-uniformed Thai started snapping photos of the crying girlfriend until the Arabs yelled at him to stop. This was before she knew yet whether her boyfriend was alive or dead.

Nearly an hour or so after the fall, one of the orange-shirted men finally reached the body. From the vantage point of the foreigners watching, he appeared to judge him dead by sight without taking any vital signs. They can't be certain of this, but if any vitals were taken or any attempt at medical care was given, it was done in the blink of an eye. When he started moving the man, he lifted him by the arms like you would drag a body, not as you would move a medical patient. Based on the length of time it took them to finally view the body, I don't see how they could have made any determination of how quickly he died.

Communication with the girlfriend was difficult because she spoke no Thai and almost no English. However, it was the two Arab guys, some farang's Thai wife, and some random Thai tourists who made the main effort to console and comfort her. An official-looking Thai woman eventually arrived on the scene who appeared to want to take that role. Until then, pretty much all the first responders simply ignored her and talked/joked and took pictures among themselves. Nearly an hour and a half after the fall, two Spanish-speaking tourists arrived on the scene to help comfort and translate. They had been flagged down off the main road by one of the foreign tourists who went out looking for a Spanish speaker to help, not by any of the Thai officials.

More than an hour after the police first arrived, guys in orange jumpsuits with lots of equipment arrived on the scene. They were called the "Highway Rescue Patrol" or something like that. They had the most professional look of anyone there, and they're the ones who actually got the body down. However, they were obviously far too late.

Overall, the entire effort made sense if it was viewed as a "body recovery operation" from the very beginning and any hope of medical attention was already ruled out. That would lead to a slow, cautious approach where time was not important and safety was the main criteria. However, that determination had to have been made long before the man was even spotted. And it was certainly a survivable fall, depending on his orientation coming off the top.

I'm cringing to think of what the autopsy will reveal. Hope that it was massive head trauma and he died a speedy death.

[SOTIRIOS]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot....

...and have done nothing about it.....

[peterb17]

I will clarify a few details of the account.

I don't blame the fall on the park officials at all. It is a wild mountain place. Stuff like this happens.

Every single foreigner who was on site was distressed by the pace and attitude of the rescue response.

Police did arrive early. They did absolutely nothing. No one in a police uniform made any memorable contribution to the rescue effort. The first couple police officers arrived on the scene long before any other rescue personnel did, and they just stood there. They made no effort to find the girl or talk to her and no effort to even look for the man who had fallen.

The first people to search for the man were three foreigners - from Jordan, Syria, and America. They went up and tried to find the man despite Thai officials telling them not to. One of those three didn't even get to the scene until AFTER the police got there, and yet he was the first one to get as close as possible to the man without rock-climbing/harness equipment. Until that moment, none of the Thai police or officials even knew whether the man could be reached, yet they were all still standing around at the bottom of the falls.

I'll repeat that - when the officials arrived on the scene, they couldn't see the man and couldn't know for sure where he was, yet the first officials there made no effort to look for him.

Within 30 minutes, a large number of Thai officials had arrived. They were in police uniforms, military uniforms, medic gear (blue shirted), and some sort of emergency response (orange shirted). Most of them stood around doing nothing. The stretcher that was mentioned in the story just sat lying on the ground for 30 minutes. Eventually the orange shirts and some military went up to the scene (a good 15-20 minutes after the foreigners had already tried), and they very, very slowly began setting up ropes to get in. There was a guy standing with ropes on at least 10 minutes before he made a move to try to get to the man. The foreigners watching expressed a great deal of frustration that everyone seemed to be standing around and the rescue proceeded at a snail's pace.

During this time, quite a few of the Thai first responders spent their time snapping photos. One military-uniformed Thai started snapping photos of the crying girlfriend until the Arabs yelled at him to stop. This was before she knew yet whether her boyfriend was alive or dead.

Nearly an hour or so after the fall, one of the orange-shirted men finally reached the body. From the vantage point of the foreigners watching, he appeared to judge him dead by sight without taking any vital signs. They can't be certain of this, but if any vitals were taken or any attempt at medical care was given, it was done in the blink of an eye. When he started moving the man, he lifted him by the arms like you would drag a body, not as you would move a medical patient. Based on the length of time it took them to finally view the body, I don't see how they could have made any determination of how quickly he died.

Communication with the girlfriend was difficult because she spoke no Thai and almost no English. However, it was the two Arab guys, some farang's Thai wife, and some random Thai tourists who made the main effort to console and comfort her. An official-looking Thai woman eventually arrived on the scene who appeared to want to take that role. Until then, pretty much all the first responders simply ignored her and talked/joked and took pictures among themselves. Nearly an hour and a half after the fall, two Spanish-speaking tourists arrived on the scene to help comfort and translate. They had been flagged down off the main road by one of the foreign tourists who went out looking for a Spanish speaker to help, not by any of the Thai officials.

More than an hour after the police first arrived, guys in orange jumpsuits with lots of equipment arrived on the scene. They were called the "Highway Rescue Patrol" or something like that. They had the most professional look of anyone there, and they're the ones who actually got the body down. However, they were obviously far too late.

Overall, the entire effort made sense if it was viewed as a "body recovery operation" from the very beginning and any hope of medical attention was already ruled out. That would lead to a slow, cautious approach where time was not important and safety was the main criteria. However, that determination had to have been made long before the man was even spotted. And it was certainly a survivable fall, depending on his orientation coming off the top.

I'm cringing to think of what the autopsy will reveal. Hope that it was massive head trauma and he died a speedy death.

It sounds like you were involved in a horrendous situation, and equally horrendous for this young man and his friends and family.

This country poses many risks- there is no significant state funded ambulance or rescue services. They are usually provided by volunteers.

In my home country ambulance and rescue response time is measured in minutes- here in hours outside of the cities.

I know it's not an excuse, but travelers should be aware of the health and safety issues in this part of the world .

[slipperylobster]

On the same day, I took my wife and her friend to Mae Yah waterfalls. My wife's friend (Isaan girls) went to wade up to the falls (we were at the bottom), and posed for pictures. She started to climb, and I was very upset...yelling at her to get down. That was pretty close to being the second waterfall tradgedy of the day. When we got home, I showed her the news article, and she went white. (Isaan Girl).

My heart goes out to the girlfriend of the spanish man. He took a huge risk...for a photo.

[F4UCorsair]

I know someone who died in a similar fall at the same spot a few years ago. The park officials did a really good job handling the incident and with the family when they came. The head of the park himself came along and hiked up to the falls, about an hour up from the parking lot. I was along to translate. So, yes, it can be a dangerous place, but actually there are warning signs posted, and tourists have to use some common sense.

Common sense.........the least common of the senses Puwa.

[joboss]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

Lets not follow countries like Australia, where by now you would have to wear a yellow life jacket, special boots, a harness and then get a licence to go there and have the track boarded up with yellow and black signs saying Dangerous 200 foot sheer drop. Beware of falling Koalas!

Koalas don't fall. They pounce. Drop bears pretend to fall, but really they are pouncing too..

[TomYumpoochai]

How much are those selfie sticks they sell here again? 100bt???

I use a £5.00 chinese 1 that reaches out over waterfalls and cliffs. £5.00. Beats falling over the edge any day.

[LuckyLew]

RIP to the fallen

Until someone important falls and dies accidents like this will continue in Thailand unabated

[Oziex1]

A sad event but I agree with the posters who are against excessive signage railings etc, we take our chances in the natural setting.

[Thian]

On koh samui we also went to a waterfall to swim. When we arrived the water was very shallow so me and my wife climbed the hill along the very crappy steps. There was deep water between some huge boulders so i decided to swim in it. When i climbed out of the water by grabbing a rope which hung there for this purpose i slipped off that boulder, fell deep and broke my wrist. I was still lucky though.

I had to walk the same crappy path down without being able to hold myself at the tree's and the ground was very slippery. I was oh so happy when we were down again.

Thai waterfalls (and most other attractions) are very dangerous. Be very carefull and if you don't feel confident then don't do it.

[jaywalker]

A sad event but I agree with the posters who are against excessive signage railings etc, we take our chances in the natural setting.

[metisdead]

A very insensitive and offensive troll post has been removed as well as an appropriate reply to the insensitive nature of the troll post. Please remember family members may have found about this through this site and do not need to be subjected to posts of an insensitive, offensive and derogatory manner.

[godden]

On the same day, I took my wife and her friend to Mae Yah waterfalls. My wife's friend (Isaan girls) went to wade up to the falls (we were at the bottom), and posed for pictures. She started to climb, and I was very upset...yelling at her to get down. That was pretty close to being the second waterfall tradgedy of the day. When we got home, I showed her the news article, and she went white. (Isaan Girl).

My heart goes out to the girlfriend of the spanish man. He took a huge risk...for a photo.

"And she went white" could you maybe bottle it and sell it

[ThaidaGwaii]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

You can't prevent people from doing stupid things...

[HeijoshinCool]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

.

Rant? I don't think so, I'm calmer than mud.

And don't put words in my mouth; I don't think a park official should have been "holding his hand," Mr. Melodramatic.

What I do think is since there have been "several" accidents at this particular spot perhaps roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order.

[Foreign Hiker]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

.

Rant? I don't think so, I'm calmer than mud.

And don't put words in my mouth; I don't think a park official should have been "holding his hand," Mr. Melodramatic.

What I do think is since there have been "several" accidents at this particular spot perhaps roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order.

It appears that you aren't familiar with the situation at all.

At the top there is indeed a platform with a strong wooden guard rail. No one viewing the waterfall from above can go down without climbing over the guard rail and being quite aware that they were doing something wrong.

To the left of the platform the area is roped off and there is a sign that says "Danger, please stay off".

To the right of the platform it is also roped off, and there is a sign that says "Danger No Entry".

I didn't see the man fall. But from where he ended up, I don't think he could have fallen from that top area. I think he must have climbed down to the top of the next tier, and that drop is the one he fell from. That tier is impossible to reach from the trail - you have to go through the forest to get to it. Even so, you can see from a distance that the top of that tier is roped off and a sign saying "No Entry" is hanging from it.

From a public safety standpoint, I believe the park has done all the preventative work they can do. The only additional measure I can imagine is a sign just straight up saying, "This many people have died here. Don't do it."

[DLock]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

.

Rant? I don't think so, I'm calmer than mud.

And don't put words in my mouth; I don't think a park official should have been "holding his hand," Mr. Melodramatic.

What I do think is since there have been "several" accidents at this particular spot perhaps roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order.

It appears that you aren't familiar with the situation at all.

At the top there is indeed a platform with a strong wooden guard rail. No one viewing the waterfall from above can go down without climbing over the guard rail and being quite aware that they were doing something wrong.

To the left of the platform the area is roped off and there is a sign that says "Danger, please stay off".

To the right of the platform it is also roped off, and there is a sign that says "Danger No Entry".

I didn't see the man fall. But from where he ended up, I don't think he could have fallen from that top area. I think he must have climbed down to the top of the next tier, and that drop is the one he fell from. That tier is impossible to reach from the trail - you have to go through the forest to get to it. Even so, you can see from a distance that the top of that tier is roped off and a sign saying "No Entry" is hanging from it.

From a public safety standpoint, I believe the park has done all the preventative work they can do. The only additional measure I can imagine is a sign just straight up saying, "This many people have died here. Don't do it."

Thanks for taking the time to post the original mail and the clarification of safety.

Must have been a difficult day for you.

[Tarteso]

Carlos Gabriel was CHILEAN...not Spanish. RIP CARLOS

[HeijoshinCool]

Park officials said several accidents have happened at the spot.

But of course they have, and nothing has been done to prevent future ones.

Nice job, park officials.

Nice job, armchair Thaivisa ranter.

Hello: It's a national park. A waterfall. There are clearly marked paths. If tourists go climbing and reaching to get a good selfie en then fall down then there should have been a park official there the whole time to old his hand, that's what you're saying right?

Right.

Let's all have padded walls to every bit of nature to prevent this.

It's sad when it happens, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. But it does happen in the outdoors. Rest in peace.

.

Rant? I don't think so, I'm calmer than mud.

And don't put words in my mouth; I don't think a park official should have been "holding his hand," Mr. Melodramatic.

What I do think is since there have been "several" accidents at this particular spot perhaps roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order.

It appears that you aren't familiar with the situation at all.

At the top there is indeed a platform with a strong wooden guard rail. No one viewing the waterfall from above can go down without climbing over the guard rail and being quite aware that they were doing something wrong.

To the left of the platform the area is roped off and there is a sign that says "Danger, please stay off".

To the right of the platform it is also roped off, and there is a sign that says "Danger No Entry".

I didn't see the man fall. But from where he ended up, I don't think he could have fallen from that top area. I think he must have climbed down to the top of the next tier, and that drop is the one he fell from. That tier is impossible to reach from the trail - you have to go through the forest to get to it. Even so, you can see from a distance that the top of that tier is roped off and a sign saying "No Entry" is hanging from it.

From a public safety standpoint, I believe the park has done all the preventative work they can do. The only additional measure I can imagine is a sign just straight up saying, "This many people have died here. Don't do it."

.

Oh, I am all too familiar with "the situation," even without having been there. I have attended a number of accident scenes in Thailand, and the rescue efforts are typically poorly executed. On one occasion, the "rescuers" killed the victim by improperly lifting him.

I've also been to many national parks and a number of waterfalls in Thailand, and I have never seen any serious means of protecting visitors from dangers.

As for my unfamiliarity with this specific situation, why would I be familiar? The report is vague, and even your own earlier post, based on your first-hand observations, failed to mention anything about barriers and signs, and focused solely on the poor attitude and general incompetence of the "rescuers."

So, thank you for your update. Now I am familiar with the situation.

[Awk]

Rant? I don't think so, I'm calmer than mud.

And don't put words in my mouth; I don't think a park official should have been "holding his hand," Mr. Melodramatic.

What I do think is since there have been "several" accidents at this particular spot perhaps roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order.

It appears that you aren't familiar with the situation at all.

At the top there is indeed a platform with a strong wooden guard rail. No one viewing the waterfall from above can go down without climbing over the guard rail and being quite aware that they were doing something wrong.

To the left of the platform the area is roped off and there is a sign that says "Danger, please stay off".

To the right of the platform it is also roped off, and there is a sign that says "Danger No Entry".

I didn't see the man fall. But from where he ended up, I don't think he could have fallen from that top area. I think he must have climbed down to the top of the next tier, and that drop is the one he fell from. That tier is impossible to reach from the trail - you have to go through the forest to get to it. Even so, you can see from a distance that the top of that tier is roped off and a sign saying "No Entry" is hanging from it.

From a public safety standpoint, I believe the park has done all the preventative work they can do. The only additional measure I can imagine is a sign just straight up saying, "This many people have died here. Don't do it."

.

Oh, I am all too familiar with "the situation," even without having been there. I have attended a number of accident scenes in Thailand, and the rescue efforts are typically poorly executed. On one occasion, the "rescuers" killed the victim by improperly lifting him.

I've also been to many national parks and a number of waterfalls in Thailand, and I have never seen any serious means of protecting visitors from dangers.

As for my unfamiliarity with this specific situation, why would I be familiar? The report is vague, and even your own earlier post, based on your first-hand observations, failed to mention anything about barriers and signs, and focused solely on the poor attitude and general incompetence of the "rescuers."

So, thank you for your update. Now I am familiar with the situation.

Right. You say "nothing has been done to prevent future ones" and you think that "roping it off or a guard rail, might have been in order". And you are ``all too familiar with "the situation"''.

Then somebody, in a rather intelligent and polite way, corrects you on both accounts by informing you, who is already `all too familiar with "the situation"'', that measures have been taken to prevent it from happening; they have both roped the area off, and installed a strong wooden guard rail, as well as put up signs.

Instead of eating humble pie, you reply to the information and corrections in a condescending manner. Would your parents be proud? Would anyone?