Foreign tourist dies at Chiang Mai zipline attraction

[Peter Strand]

thaines at its best, nothing else than a big big lie

[Jonathan Swift]

Yeesh, I did it last year, knock on wood. There is one that was built by an Australian company, I wonder if we could assume it to be more safe?

[catman20]

better save face by saying it was a heart attack.

"thainess at its best"

im sick of this saving face s--t when are safety issues going to be paramount ?

[carter1882]

As woozle points out the key is training and protocols and the basic here is that the client must always be tied on to something no matter what. Many operators are fully aware of this of course but it is also true that staff can get blase which is extremely dangerous. I have inspected many of these facilities. Contrary to what many posters on here are spouting , most of them are professionally run . As someone responsible for safety on school trips at a well known international school i used to tell parents concerned about safety in outdoor activities that easily the most dangerous thing their children were likely to face was the journey there, with the swimming pool a reasonably close second.

[Johpa]

I think the answer is easier than that,

The zipline companies are owned by foreigners, the staff are Thais.

The Thai staff are paid minimum wage, and don't really care about the safety of foreigners.

The Thai staff can't be taught anything, because they always know better than foreigners.

As the owner of the company what can you do? You are forced to use Thai staff, and forbidden to do the work yourself.

Incorrect. Flight of Gibbon and Eagle Track were both started by a Thai man. Their safety records are quite good and knowing the people at Eagle Track, I know they take safety seriously. I don't mean to make conclusions against the Flying Squirrel people as I do not know those folks. But at every zipline around the world there is that brief moment when the safety line is unattached from the "zip line" and then attached to the safety line at the tree station. The fall may have been a result of operator error and inevitably they must take the blame. But the tourist may have acted in a completely illogical and random way at the moment the safety line was being reattached, contributing to the errors made by the staff.

I do notice a trend that these accidents at such attractions tend to happen at the "me-too" facilities nearly always started up by Thais once they see someone else making money at something and feel a need to join in and divide the pie despite their lack of experience.

[Guy360]

The worst case of suicide ever seen at the Flying Squirrel.

[fred Kubasa]

Disney and other theme parks, everywhere have technicians walk all coaster

rides, every morning, inspecting them and other attractions for any sort of failure. I don't believe Thailand has any inspections of any attractions --

ever !

[kjhbigv]

Right now, the only things we are sure of is that someone died, and she had broken bones. We don't know if she died as a result of these broken bones, or before she fell. We also don't know WHY she fell.

Hmmmmmmm

I thought the whole concept of zipline safety was you would be unable to fall, even if unconscious or dead.

So what 'facts' can we be sure of ......

Fact 1 = she's dead

Fact 2 = she had broken bones

Conclusion = she fell

Verdict = safety lacking

No need to know any more really.

Was she on the zipline when she fell? Was she on a platform when she fell? There are several times when a person is NOT tethered to a safety line (although in my opinion there should never be.) Believe me, I'm all in favor of redundant safety measures, and I realize that many of the Thai Zipline companies don't follow them. We just don't know if THIS is one of the companies that is remiss. So personally, I'll wait for the facts to come in before I make any judgements. You needn't feel so obligated.

"There are several times when a person is NOT tethered to a safety line"

Jesus! It that really true? How on earth is that allowed? 50ft up in the air and you are NOT tethered? Is that the same for ALL the Zip Lines around Chiang Mai?

[KhunSteven]

Just to note that while many zipline operators are cowboys; Flight of the Gibbon are not. Never been anywhere with such attention to detail when it comes to safety in my life. Please don't lump all the operators together - those guys are Aussie run and fanatical about their safety record (as they should be).They also give a lot back to the communities in which they operate.

I have been on Flight of the Gibbon and lived to tell the tale.

[Johpa]

Disney and other theme parks, everywhere have technicians walk all coaster

rides, every morning, inspecting them and other attractions for any sort of failure. I don't believe Thailand has any inspections of any attractions --

ever !

Another incorrect assumption. At the zipline near my home, the workers inspect the system every morning before opening to the public.

[Johpa]

Jesus! It that really true? How on earth is that allowed? 50ft up in the air and you are NOT tethered? Is that the same for ALL the Zip Lines around Chiang Mai?

I believe most ziplines around the world operate with a single safety line. There is always that brief moment when the line is detached from the zipline, or often the second parallel zipline, and then attached to the safety line on the tree platform.

But then again Chef, if you are going to rely on Jesus then stay at home and never get off the boat. The world is full of tigers and other dangers.

[Broeno]

lie about the cause of a fatal accident should be severely punished. And this should be a start.

the media should disseminate it widely so that tourists be informed.

[hawkander]

I have been working in Safety for about 40 years, from the Fire Service to Health and Safety engineering projects and if the people who control these activities, aren`t trained and have the necessary experience, then it is inevitable that serious accidents will happen.

[cookee68]

She died from Thai bullshit, as if nobody was going to find out, F@@k all will happen to them, why you say, because she is a foreigner

[cookee68]

I think the answer is easier than that,

The zipline companies are owned by foreigners, the staff are Thais.

The Thai staff are paid minimum wage, and don't really care about the safety of foreigners.

The Thai staff can't be taught anything, because they always know better than foreigners.

As the owner of the company what can you do? You are forced to use Thai staff, and forbidden to do the work yourself.

Incorrect. Flight of Gibbon and Eagle Track were both started by a Thai man. Their safety records are quite good and knowing the people at Eagle Track, I know they take safety seriously. I don't mean to make conclusions against the Flying Squirrel people as I do not know those folks. But at every zipline around the world there is that brief moment when the safety line is unattached from the "zip line" and then attached to the safety line at the tree station. The fall may have been a result of operator error and inevitably they must take the blame. But the tourist may have acted in a completely illogical and random way at the moment the safety line was being reattached, contributing to the errors made by the staff.

I do notice a trend that these accidents at such attractions tend to happen at the "me-too" facilities nearly always started up by Thais once they see someone else making money at something and feel a need to join in and divide the pie despite their lack of experience.

Unless she suffered an heart attack at that split moment in time that the rope was not attached then they are responsible, and how would they possibly know if someone died of an heart attack, they tried to cover up the truth and should be charged for the death. end of story

[StevieDee]

It is alleged the operator of the Flying Squirrel told police and friends of the woman that she had died of a heart attack while riding on one of the tree top ziplines.

<deleted>? Surely they are not this foolish...

How could anyone who runs this sort of activity business have the disrespect and complete disregard for human life, to come out with such a BLATANT lie as this when someone has died due to their shocking / non-existent safety standards?

This business should be closed down, and the owners fined & jailed for negligence on their part.

What will actually happen? I suspect NOTHING.. no compensation, no business closure and no jail time for the people responsible for this persons death.

What a complete and utter disgrace. RIP to the victim.

Thailand needs to wake up to this kind of thing and do something about it.. Maybe next life.

"Ignorance to their own arrogance" aptly sums up Thainess, don't believe me then "up to you"

[OnTheRun]

He should have gone with the reason that she died of a very rare disease unknown

to men yet while using his death trap's contraption.... sure bet there....

Yup a very rare disease that causes multiple bone fractures that has just this morning been discovered by scientists at a Thai university. Along with a substantial bung I'd imagine that would be cleared through any court enquiry until such time as a single gateway eradicates negative news such as this.

RIP to the Chinese lady

[FolkGuitar]

"There are several times when a person is NOT tethered to a safety line"

Jesus! It that really true? How on earth is that allowed? 50ft up in the air and you are NOT tethered? Is that the same for ALL the Zip Lines around Chiang Mai?

I keep re-reading the initial post and I can't see anything that said she was 50ft up in the air. People often get multiple fractures tripping off a curb on the side of the road.

Would you please point out where you got this information? Thanks.

Unless she suffered an heart attack at that split moment in time that the rope was not attached then they are responsible, and how would they possibly know if someone died of an heart attack, they tried to cover up the truth and should be charged for the death. end of story

You've raised two points here, both of them very important...

First, today Forensic Science is able to tell if someone died from a heart attack (by enzymes present in the blood) or from the impact of a fall. No problem. Simple science.

Next, "if' they tried to cover up the truth of an accident, YES, they SHOULD be charged with the death of this woman. So the crux of this matter lies in actually finding out the truth, rather than just making wild assumptions. Facts, rather than assumptions. Right now we have only two; she died and she fell and broke bones. Nothing more.

However, any accident makes for the ideal soapbox for Thai Bashing, and our usual Thai Bashers waste no time voicing racist remarks. Makes me wonder just why they stay in a country filled with people they hate so much...

[duckmandon]

Another attraction death. Its time to stop this slaughter of tourists. This means get the cowboys off these attractions & put someone who has some sort of experience in to run them. Its vans, buses, trains, motorbikes, drownings, jet skis, falls from buildings etc. Get real & start to do things to an international standard. Make sure the companies have public liability insurance in which the insurance companies make sure things are done properly or they don't cover them. If they don't have insurance they cannot run a bussiness. Helps in the real world not fantasy land.

[MaeJoMTB]

on tv news last night.

woman who died was a chinese doctor. paid 1.9mbht compensation to family.

all done and dusted. no further action.

[LarryBird]

Where is folkguitar when the Zipline killer Companies need him to defend whats going on in this mess of a country ... ?

No doubt this shady Zipline business in CM will continue - Authorities dont care how many foreigners is getting killed cause of negligence from owner and staff

Only one thing to do : Stay away ...

I'm right here, but I won't say anything until some 'facts' have been presented. You may wish to fly off the handle with no information, but that's not how I like to do things.

Right now, the only things we are sure of is that someone died, and she had broken bones. We don't know if she died as a result of these broken bones, or before she fell. We also don't know WHY she fell.

If the zipline company was at fault, I'll be more than happy to castigate them for their failure. Until we know the facts, I'll leave the mud slinging to you.

So whose facts do we wait for and believe, those given to us by Thais as you always seem to accept as gospel or from an independent investigation which will never happen? Any derogatry comments or as what you refer to a smud slinging are not only justified but there should be a lot more of it. Only a real loser keeps backing other losers. No she more than likely didn't die from the fall, i am guessing it was the sudden stop when she hit the ground. Jeez!

Only 23 posts from an account started a week ago, yet you know that I 'always seem to accept as gospel.' Remarkable! Don't you get tired of this? ROTFL!

Please enjoy your derogatory comments, and don't worry about which name you post under. Personally, I'll wait for some more information.

For all you know, she was stomped on by an elephant! Point is, you know nothing right now, except what you read in the very first post, and that amounts to almost nothing except that a woman is dead. So rant, rave, stomp you feet if you feel the need. I'll wait for more information.

I guess you are implying this poster is me, which it's not. I wouldn't go through the time and effort required to post from somewhere else to waste my time on you. I am however glad that someone else has noticed your continued rush to defense of the proprietors in these circumstances. You have a track record of being wrong, which can easily be found out by perusing your old posts.

Do you really have a hard time believing that in a country with a justice system as arbitrary as Thailand's, with roads as dangerous as they are here, that perhaps proper safety precautions are thrown to the wind in the name of a short term profit?

Let us remember that 'golf isn't for everybody'. Some of us need to live on the edge a little bit, right? That tourists taking a risk and going on a zip line, are thrill seekers that want to actually have a realistic chance of dying? Similar to getting on a Kawasaki Ninja 650.

Some of us realize that we will never have the cold hard facts come out, and so we have to use our own experiences and judgment to decide what we believe to be true, based on what is in front of us. I am guessing you are one of those people that says 'innocent until proven guilty'. So let me guess, if you lived next door to a person that was tried 5 times for child molestation, and was acquitted each time, you would still let your kids play with them.. Because, well, 'innocent until proven guilty!!'.

[TPI]

When is Thailand going to wake up and create a government department whose job it is to monitor and check these dangerous attractions all over Thailand? Thailand wants tourists and their money, but they could care less about their lives.

What am I thinking of, anyone working for this mythical department will be rich through bribery and looking the other way. Stupid me!

What were you thinking......

[FolkGuitar]

LarryBird, on 14 Oct 2015 - 10:59, said: I guess you are implying this poster is me, which it's not.

Really? Why is this night different from all other nights?

I wouldn't go through the time and effort required to post from somewhere else to waste my time on you.

Really? Why is this night different from all other nights? LOL!

Having already been suspended twice for stalking me, spending God only knows how many hours tracking down all my posts so you can hit the 'like' button so I get the notice, then unliking them again so they don't show up on the screen, visiting my 'profile' page day after day.... Larry, it seems as if you actually DO waste your time on me, and I'm flattered. Concerned about your stability, but flattered.

I am guessing you are one of those people that says 'innocent until proven guilty'.

Oh... My... God! Can you imagine?!? I'm one of THOSE! (I certainly hope my friends and neighbors never find out.)

What a concept! Innocent until proven guilty.... Actually dealing with facts instead of conjecture born out of knee-jerk and often racist emotion.... Shocking idea, that, eh?

The basis for virtually every modern justice system in the world today, yet you, in your ignorance, laugh at it.

Larry, we can always count on you for a good laugh, even though it's usually at your expense.

[woozlewuzzle]

I am sorry "Johpa" but you are wrong!

when you zipline you are attached to the wire with a pulley which has an second karabiner resting on top of it and acts as a reserve ( backup) should the pulley fail.

If you notice a company not doing this, then they have already breached normal safety protocol.

As well as this you also have another karabiner which is normally attached to the top of the other side of the pulley , which is then attached to the client with a seconday 'tether' ( sling, cowstail etc...) . Not always the case, some companies like to place this on the harness.

when you reach the end of the run, the instructor then takes the seconday tether and attaches it to the safely line normally wrapped around the tree, once done they then unattach the pulley off the zip wire and clip it to the client somewhere on the harness ready for the next run.

There is NEVER any time when the client is unattached. They are always attached to at least one anchor point. Some companies insist their clients have 2 attachement points and do not include the pulley and karabiner as such,but these are in the minority.

Like I said before, the problem is the instructors are taking the clients off of the wire BEFORE attaching them to the safety line, WHY???

I know why but i am not going to say, becasue I dont want to be labled a Thai basher

[MaeJoMTB]

What a concept! Innocent until proven guilty.... Actually dealing with facts instead of conjecture born out of knee-jerk and often racist emotion.... Shocking idea, that, eh?

I believe the concept is "presumption of innocence" which is entirely different.

[Chicog]

I am sorry "Johpa" but you are wrong!

when you zipline you are attached to the wire with a pulley which has an second karabiner resting on top of it and acts as a reserve ( backup) should the pulley fail.

If you notice a company not doing this, then they have already breached normal safety protocol.

As well as this you also have another karabiner which is normally attached to the top of the other side of the pulley , which is then attached to the client with a seconday 'tether' ( sling, cowstail etc...) . Not always the case, some companies like to place this on the harness.

when you reach the end of the run, the instructor then takes the seconday tether and attaches it to the safely line normally wrapped around the tree, once done they then unattach the pulley off the zip wire and clip it to the client somewhere on the harness ready for the next run.

There is NEVER any time when the client is unattached. They are always attached to at least one anchor point. Some companies insist their clients have 2 attachement points and do not include the pulley and karabiner as such,but these are in the minority.

Like I said before, the problem is the instructors are taking the clients off of the wire BEFORE attaching them to the safety line, WHY???

I know why but i am not going to say, becasue I dont want to be labled a Thai basher

I've done the Gibbon a couple of times, both times quite full, really enjoyed it and never felt unsafe. They did exactly what you say they were supposed to: You were never unattached at any time, and they were very rigorous about it to the point of telling everyone repeatedly that they were never to unclip or clip themselves; it always had to be a member of staff that did it.

Although trip advisor reports suggest they may have got complacent in some areas since then.

[NCC1701A]

sad. RIP Chinese lady. just wanted to have some fun. she probably never hurt a soul.

surprised she did not get eaten by a tiger also...

can't run away like a bus driver so must be a heart attack.

lets get this out on twitter.

[FolkGuitar]

What a concept! Innocent until proven guilty.... Actually dealing with facts instead of conjecture born out of knee-jerk and often racist emotion.... Shocking idea, that, eh?

I believe the concept is "presumption of innocence" which is entirely different.

.

Play with words all you'd like. The actuality is that you don't hang someone until all the facts are in. Or perhaps I should say "I" won't hang someone until all the facts are in. It appears you follow a different set of rules.

[connda]

Safety and Thailand. Just does not go together!

Safety First

Safety 2nd

Safety 3rd

Safety 4th

...

...

Safety 172th That's about right!

------------------------------------------------------------

But on the flip side:

Vehicle fatalities 1st

Vehicle fatalities 2nd We have a Winner!!! Congratulations Thailand!

[puukao]

super dangerous. To think it's JUST AS SAFE as your home country is naive. Just like tigers, elephants, whatever.....maybe they didn't drug the tigers right. maybe they hit the elephants too hard....

i would just avoid it all.....or do so at your own peril.

my big mistake was taking an overnight van TWICE (four trips to Laos). Nothing happened, but nightmare...won't ever do that craziness again.