Boat driver flees after striking British diver near Koh Tao

[2fishin2]

Longtails are not "reversed"

[Basil B]

Longtails are not "reversed"

Thank fully I have never seen a long tail on a dive site, the very idea gives me the willies...

Not to say the are never used.

[lostmebike]

Completely understand his thinking though. Why stop?

They literally DO get away with murder down there.

[cookee68]

Don't worry he will hand himself in soon after he has thought of a pathetic excuse to tell the BIB, why is it then all run away, do they think that if they go away, so will the crime they have committed, or accident which ever they decide

[uksomchai]

Longtails are not "reversed"

Of course they are ! They simply point the propeller towards the front of the boat so " reversing " the longtail boat. In the right hands they are very manoeuvrable indeed.

There has been some utter nonsense posted here about Koh Tao. This tiny island certifies more people than the rest of SE Asia put together, or did so when you actually put the figures together then you get a very good safety record, but hey that doesn't make for good posting now does it.

Accidents happen around the world but some people posting here seem to think that it only ever happens in Thailand and especially Koh Tao. I have dived there thousands of times and lived there on and off for years and have never once felt threatened or scared when diving.

Let us hope the young lady makes a full recovery

[Reigntax]

Longtails are not "reversed"

Of course they are ! They simply point the propeller towards the front of the boat so " reversing " the longtail boat. In the right hands they are very manoeuvrable indeed.

There has been some utter nonsense posted here about Koh Tao. This tiny island certifies more people than the rest of SE Asia put together, or did so when you actually put the figures together then you get a very good safety record, but hey that doesn't make for good posting now does it.

Accidents happen around the world but some people posting here seem to think that it only ever happens in Thailand and especially Koh Tao. I have dived there thousands of times and lived there on and off for years and have never once felt threatened or scared when diving.

Let us hope the young lady makes a full recovery

They certainly certify a lot of death certificates and no wonder if they keep pointing the propeller towards the front, which unfortunately is where the passengers are.

[laislica]

Thailand, is a very dangerous place. Tourists and expats beware. Nothing is ever what it seems! And there god is profit!

THEIR god !!!

Well if we are being pedantic:

And there; god is profit!

or ^^^

And there, god is profit!

^^^

What a tragedy for the poor girl and her loved ones.

Something that she will have for the rest of her life.

I pray for her and that she will be fully restored and recovered as soon as possible.

[laislica]

I am a diver.

This is a diver's nightmare.

What a tragic accident.

Really, no words can sum up the loss she has suffered, and I know we all wish her God Speed in her recovery>

I know it sounds corny .. but could everyone just take a moment, visualize what she is going through, and send some prayers, good vibes,.. her way?

How about praying for those that can still avoid the KT live fire zone of open season target practice on foreigners so that future tragedies can be preempted? How could Brits not know they aren't welcome there?

Clearly you have missed the point, but please ... let no opportunity to escalate this go by. Is it not possible to put out a positive message without a Troll pissing on it?

I am not sure if you understand the word "accident." I am guesing you do not because your posting implies that the boat driver did this on purpose? is that what you believe?

Really?

Or are you just a ver angry person who paints everything with a broad brush without giving the facts any thought? I am guessing that is closer to the truth.

I think your time in the Kingdom (if you actaully are even in Thailand) has reached its "Use By Date" and it is time to pack it up and go back to your "Farangatopia"

Guessing you have two legs .. be grateful for that .. think of the girl .. send her a get well wish, if you have any humanity left in your heart.

+1

BTW, I did that already.

For those who don´t understand.

There is scientific evidence to show that if a sick person is "prayed for" by a bunch of people, even though the sick person has no idea that this is happening, those prayed for show better healing results than those not prayed for.

Here´s wishing her as pain free and rapid recovery as possible.

Hang in there Gal and get well soon.

x

[2fishin2]

Longtails are not "reversed"

Of course they are ! They simply point the propeller towards the front of the boat so " reversing " the longtail boat. In the right hands they are very manoeuvrable indeed.

There has been some utter nonsense posted here about Koh Tao. This tiny island certifies more people than the rest of SE Asia put together, or did so when you actually put the figures together then you get a very good safety record, but hey that doesn't make for good posting now does it.

Accidents happen around the world but some people posting here seem to think that it only ever happens in Thailand and especially Koh Tao. I have dived there thousands of times and lived there on and off for years and have never once felt threatened or scared when diving.

Let us hope the young lady makes a full recovery

Of course they are not....there is no reverse gear on a longtail.

Koh Tao is one big corrupt island, nothing more, nothing less.

[AleG]

Why is Thai social media not angered by this fleeing boat driver. Thailand is getting worse every day. Grow up! Tourist are your lively hood but flee boat drivers will be your down fall!

As already pointed out...

There are other news reports in the public domain, one I know I can not quote, and the others I do not know if I can, (google is your friend!!!) but they all clearly state the Boat captain did not do a runner, it is reported he and his boat crew assisted in the rescue.

This is becoming a none story, it is equal to the many road accidents that involve tourists daily that go unreported.

But as a recreational diver myself I have an interest in safety standards, and there are other questions to be answered, most importantly why the accident happened in the first place, not to kick butts but to hopefully see that such accidents never happen again.

Almost certainly that it was not the young ladies fault she was a doing a Discover Scuba dive, this not even diver training, but just something to give people an experience of diving, but failings of the instructor &/or Boat captain and crew, too often I have witnessed Jet Skis and speed boats operating in close proximity to divers and can recall one instance of a dive boat speeding across a dive site where there were many divers underwater at the time, as a diver it not unusual to hear boats above, even encountered a yellow sub on one dive and on another dive experienced shock waves from fishermen dynamiting fish even though the offending boat was some distance away.

Separating boats from divers, snorkellers and swimmers is an issue that Thailand needs to tackle with the greatest of urgency.

As you may have noticed some people are not as much interested in the facts as in getting their recreational outrage going.

I saw about this incident while surfing the Scubaboard forums, the summation of events being as follows:

A 20-year-old British woman sustained severe leg injuries when she was struck by a boat’s propeller while diving near an island off Koh Phangan district.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when Alice Louise Davies was taking part in a diving course at Koh Hin Sam Kon, near Koh Nang Yuan in tambon

Koh Tao.

Ms Davies and other tourists taking the

Discover Scuba Diving course were reportedly surfacing when a boat carrying diving gear entered the area. Her right leg was struck by the whirling propeller blades.

Paramedics called to the scene said the British tourist’s leg was severely lacerated, with two broken bones, and she had lost a lot of blood. She was given emergency first aid and taken to a hospital on

Koh Tao. Ms Davies was later transferred to Thai International Hospital on Koh Samui.

A doctor said she was out of danger, but was being kept in an intensive care unit.

Koh Tao police investigator Pol Lt Col Napa Saenathip identified the boat that hit her as the Thaniya Namchoke and the driver as Boonrod Klubnark.

He quoted Mr Boonroad as saying the accident occurred when he was backing his boat. The propeller first hit underwater rocks and when he backed again the propeller blades struck the tourist in the leg.

Pol Lt Col Napa said Mr Boonrod and his crew worked for Roctopus dive shop on Koh Tao. After the accident they helped Ms Davies and called rescue workers. They did not attempt to flee the scene. Initial media reports said the boat driver sped off after it hit the woman.

It was the second recent accident in the area involving local boat propellers and foreign divers. About six months ago, on Dec 22, a Norwegian female tourist Silji Macdison, 22, died after being struck on the head by the propeller of a boat in the sea off Koh Tao.

[berybert]

Why is Thai social media not angered by this fleeing boat driver. Thailand is getting worse every day. Grow up! Tourist are your lively hood but flee boat drivers will be your down fall!

As already pointed out...

There are other news reports in the public domain, one I know I can not quote, and the others I do not know if I can, (google is your friend!!!) but they all clearly state the Boat captain did not do a runner, it is reported he and his boat crew assisted in the rescue.

This is becoming a none story, it is equal to the many road accidents that involve tourists daily that go unreported.

But as a recreational diver myself I have an interest in safety standards, and there are other questions to be answered, most importantly why the accident happened in the first place, not to kick butts but to hopefully see that such accidents never happen again.

Almost certainly that it was not the young ladies fault she was a doing a Discover Scuba dive, this not even diver training, but just something to give people an experience of diving, but failings of the instructor &/or Boat captain and crew, too often I have witnessed Jet Skis and speed boats operating in close proximity to divers and can recall one instance of a dive boat speeding across a dive site where there were many divers underwater at the time, as a diver it not unusual to hear boats above, even encountered a yellow sub on one dive and on another dive experienced shock waves from fishermen dynamiting fish even though the offending boat was some distance away.

Separating boats from divers, snorkellers and swimmers is an issue that Thailand needs to tackle with the greatest of urgency.

As you may have noticed some people are not as much interested in the facts as in getting their recreational outrage going.

I saw about this incident while surfing the Scubaboard forums, the summation of events being as follows:

A 20-year-old British woman sustained severe leg injuries when she was struck by a boat’s propeller while diving near an island off Koh Phangan district.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when Alice Louise Davies was taking part in a diving course at Koh Hin Sam Kon, near Koh Nang Yuan in tambon

Koh Tao.

Ms Davies and other tourists taking the

Discover Scuba Diving course were reportedly surfacing when a boat carrying diving gear entered the area. Her right leg was struck by the whirling propeller blades.

Paramedics called to the scene said the British tourist’s leg was severely lacerated, with two broken bones, and she had lost a lot of blood. She was given emergency first aid and taken to a hospital on

Koh Tao. Ms Davies was later transferred to Thai International Hospital on Koh Samui.

A doctor said she was out of danger, but was being kept in an intensive care unit.

Koh Tao police investigator Pol Lt Col Napa Saenathip identified the boat that hit her as the Thaniya Namchoke and the driver as Boonrod Klubnark.

He quoted Mr Boonroad as saying the accident occurred when he was backing his boat. The propeller first hit underwater rocks and when he backed again the propeller blades struck the tourist in the leg.

Pol Lt Col Napa said Mr Boonrod and his crew worked for Roctopus dive shop on Koh Tao. After the accident they helped Ms Davies and called rescue workers. They did not attempt to flee the scene. Initial media reports said the boat driver sped off after it hit the woman.

It was the second recent accident in the area involving local boat propellers and foreign divers. About six months ago, on Dec 22, a Norwegian female tourist Silji Macdison, 22, died after being struck on the head by the propeller of a boat in the sea off Koh Tao.

Thanks for the warning AleG. If you as a Koh Tao fan are warning people to beware of speedboats killing and maiming people then I think they should heed your call and go diving somewhere safer.

One death by speedboat is one too many and I'm glad to see you bringing up deaths from 6 months ago as a reminder to people that this latest disaster isn't the first time it has happened.

They obviously didn't learn from the last occasion and I agree with you they don't deserve another chance.

[rockyysdt]

I'm not saying hit and run is right but its not exclusively Thai.

Everyone gets quite emotional about punishing the bad,spoilt,hi so,brat, Thai.

We are talking about scuba diving lessons.

No one knows the circumstances.

How can anyone see a submerged diver when boating?

I think the scuba dive instructers should take boating into account when conducting their lessons.

Sent up buoys around the dive area!?

[ubonjoe]

Removed 5 duplicate posts. Please wait a bit before clicking the post button again.

[Headcase]

Most dive agency advise when you can't return to the shot line and have to free ascend from depth then an SMB should released from depth to notify boat traffic there is a diver below and they are surfacing. This is particularly true when there surfacing in an area with boat traffic. There is a lot of boat traffic at the dive sites on KT.

I spent 4 months diving in KT and I never saw anyone with an SMB or deploying one. That dive safety procedure is never used on KT. I was always surprised that I never saw an accident when I was there as a result.

The dive shops don't issue them to divers as part of the hire kit, I assumed as they didn't want the expense of the kit and secondly they didn't want to extend the length of the dive course by adding another skill. They want to fire out the certs quick, instructors are paid that per student.

Don't know the details of this incident, might be an instructor led trainee doing an unplanned out of control rapid but the above procedure is ignored on the island anyway. Thats a dive shop issue.

[Basil B]

Most dive agency advise when you can't return to the shot line and have to free ascend from depth then an SMB should released from depth to notify boat traffic there is a diver below and they are surfacing. This is particularly true when there surfacing in an area with boat traffic. There is a lot of boat traffic at the dive sites on KT.

I spent 4 months diving in KT and I never saw anyone with an SMB or deploying one. That dive safety procedure is never used on KT. I was always surprised that I never saw an accident when I was there as a result.

The dive shops don't issue them to divers as part of the hire kit, I assumed as they didn't want the expense of the kit and secondly they didn't want to extend the length of the dive course by adding another skill. They want to fire out the certs quick, instructors are paid that per student.

Don't know the details of this incident, might be an instructor led trainee doing an unplanned out of control rapid but the above procedure is ignored on the island anyway. Thats a dive shop issue.

The divers was returning to shore swimming on the surface...

I am sure I know where this happened, there should have been no boats there, IMHO the bay should have a boom across it to stop boats entering.

As for divers having to use SMB's OK to a point, better still official dive sites should be well charted and buoyed off, big fines for boat incursions and dive boats to clearly fly a dive flag to indicate divers down (which should be lowered after all divers have returned to the boat), maybe a strobe light and a loud horn to warn of other boats.

As for this accident considering the lack of credible reporting I suspect the boat involved was collecting dive equipment at the end of the day, either being impatient and not wanting to queue to use the near by jetty, or not having sufficient boat crew (or interns) on hand to hump the used equipment to the jetty the Captain decided to use the beach from which shore diving operations were still ongoing.

[Headcase]

Most dive agency advise when you can't return to the shot line and have to free ascend from depth then an SMB should released from depth to notify boat traffic there is a diver below and they are surfacing. This is particularly true when there surfacing in an area with boat traffic. There is a lot of boat traffic at the dive sites on KT.

I spent 4 months diving in KT and I never saw anyone with an SMB or deploying one. That dive safety procedure is never used on KT. I was always surprised that I never saw an accident when I was there as a result.

The dive shops don't issue them to divers as part of the hire kit, I assumed as they didn't want the expense of the kit and secondly they didn't want to extend the length of the dive course by adding another skill. They want to fire out the certs quick, instructors are paid that per student.

Don't know the details of this incident, might be an instructor led trainee doing an unplanned out of control rapid but the above procedure is ignored on the island anyway. Thats a dive shop issue.

As for divers having to use SMB's OK to a point, better still official dive sites should be well charted and buoyed off, big fines for boat incursions and dive boats to clearly fly a dive flag to indicate divers down (which should be lowered after all divers have returned to the boat), maybe a strobe light and a loud horn to warn of other boats.

SMBs, dive flags etc etc are all dive industry standard safety protocols across any of the agencies from PADI to GUE etc None of which are used on KT, a general point on KT diving I observed when there. Might not have helped with this incident but the dive operations on KT are slack on a number of fronts with regards to safety and in varying degrees across the shops. But you pay your money and get what you pay for.

[Basil B]

I totally disagree that SMB's should be deployed on all dives...

Yes, mandatory to carry one, but there is always a risk of entanglement if more than one diver deploys one and they sure do not keep speed boats or jet skis away, in most instances the only reason to deploy one is to let your boat know where you or if you surface some distance from you boat your boat may spot you easier.

[Headcase]

Yep as per any agency standard only 1 of the team should/needs to fire off an SMB.

Anyway the point I'm making is that KT has a lack of safety procedures for divers operating below heavy boat traffic. The dive shops don't apply agency safety recommendations. That's what I witnessed there. I can't comment on the incident itself as I have no details.