Seven year old Swiss boy dies after being electrocuted on Samui beach

[hgma]

Just imagine for a moment, no don't !!

My family wishes to express our deepest condolences for the tragedy they had to endure

May the Good Lord finds a way to comfort this family!

[Guemlum]

RIP little one...the authorities will probably blame the family for being there. "If you didn't come to Thailand, it wouldn't have happened". This country will never ever learn from past mistakes.

[honoluludave]

I would guess that there are many news worthy stories in Koh Samui and other tourist locations that quickly and quietly get suppressed. Do not want the truth to be known. Do not stop the flow of tourist money!

[jacko45k]

I can't understand why there would be a live electrical cable buried in beach sand...... where did the other end go to?

Was there a bay and they took a short-cut to save on cable?

How absolutely tragic.......

[kannot]

life has no meaning in Thailand should be a big notice at the airport...........they dont give a sh38

[kannot]

Just imagine for a moment, no don't !!

My family wishes to express our deepest condolences for the tragedy they had to endure

May the Good Lord finds a way to comfort this family!

the same good lord who was watching over him then!!

[cumgranosalum]

as with all Thai beauty spots - rampant unregulated development and no attention paid to infrastructure.....and a 7 year old boy has to pay the price for their negligence.

Edited February 26, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[tomacht8]

Sad.
RIP.
A residual current circuit breaker does not cost much and can save lives.
Is it stupidity, ignorance or greed?
As long as there are no provisions to ground electrical systems and to secure reasonable, there will be still more such accidents.

[JoeLing]

On the ball reporting, happened on 14th ?

Very sad indeed though, RIP

Likely not reported before because it is being kept out of the Thai media for the fear of negative impact on tourism.

Notice this is from a source in Switzerland, not in Thailand.

Absolutely tragic story. RIP

I trust the people or organisation responsible will never be brought to justice over this gross negligence

Sorry to say but actually, the source seams to be in Thailand.

On the bottom of the 20min article they say, the source is farang.com

a German forum for ex-pats in Thailand.

The article in farang.com is dated 25 February, no time given.

In the Swiss online paper, the article was first published on 25 February 00:56 h Thailand time and updated at 04:41 h

Who was first? Did the Swiss website have the link to farang.com already with the first publication shortly after midnight or did the Thai source become available later and the Swiss site made the update based on it? Is farang.com known for quoting the sources from which they take the information for their articles?

On the first on-line articles of the 24th February at 18:56, 24min.com and TeleBasel referred to farang.com as source.

Even the printed versions of Blick or Basler Zeitung refer to farang.com as source.

From my understanding, the source IS in Thailand even if you don't find a date and time on farang.com.

So not quite sure what you want to imply Maestro?

[Langsuan Man]

The only way we have been able to prevent this type of senseless negligence in the West is through litigation

Until Thailand's lawyers start taking cases on contingency nothing will change

Since money is number one in Thailand the only way to get their attention is to take some a lot of their money

[Moonsterk]

Another question:

Who on Samui (Thailand) squashed this story?

This hasn't come to the surface until the Swiss media published it.

There are no Thai news source references to it.

R.I.P. little dude.

Is there even a real news organization in Samui? Thai or otherwise?

[cumgranosalum]

The only way we have been able to prevent this type of senseless negligence in the West is through litigation

Until Thailand's lawyers start taking cases on contingency nothing will change

Since money is number one in Thailand the only way to get their attention is to take some a lot of their money

in the US they litigate in Europe they legislate.

the problem with litigation is that it can only be done AFTER the incident.

[fanof3d]

No one or company will be held accountable unfortunately. RIP little guy. Shame on authorities concealing this story and shame on the POS's who are responsible for this.

I seriously hope that they are able to seek damages. This is insane but again shows the horrific attention to detail that I see a lot of in this country. How in the hell would an exposed cable of all things be easily accessed on a <deleted> beach? Even more disturbing is the general lack of responsibility people take in this country when something bad happens. That I can guarantee you is the reason why this was suppressed. Those responsible are embarrassed but more than that they should be monetarily responsible. I know that won't bring this child back but someone needs to pay for this negligence. Someone should force those responsible to form a small committee to figure out what happened and an action plan to make sure it doesn't happen again. Yeah I know, won't happen. Guess I'm just overly saddened by the lack of genuine sympathy here when foreigners are killed in the LOS be it by accidents or deliberate intentions. RIP young fellow. I feel for his parents. I can't fathom what they must be going through right now :-( I personally would be devastated.

[Moonsterk]

life has no meaning in Thailand should be a big notice at the airport...........they dont give a sh38

It's one of the most significant cultural divides, the belief being the boy will be coming back soon in his new life, he deserved to die young for something he did.

It's why safety just does not get the attention westerners are always clamoring for and incidents like this happen routinely. Many tourists might choose other countries to visit if they knew of this.

[little mary sunshine]

I always try to avoid any wires at the night markets, roadside

And any temporary setting. But,with the shoddy "electricians"

You never feel safe in your own condo, around the pool or

Even out eating at a restaurant....TIT and so sad!!

[English 1]

Very sad but no surprise as here in Thailand safety is almost non existent.

Exposed cables abound everywhere.

A lot is to do with cutting corners on a job to save a few Baht.

RIP

[atyclb]

as a non electrician, should such beach lighting not be 6 or 12 volt DC ? as pool lights should be.

[allan michaud]

If this is true I hope the Authorities are taking urgent action to ensure the beach is safe.

The report would tend to suggest there are potentially lethal cables lying at a very shallow depth in the sand.

What do you mean, "if this is true"? And honestly, do you really expect the Thai authorities to do ANYTHING about such a problem. They only way this gets dealt with is if a member of the Royal family or a high-so gets zapped.

[carmine]

Another totally avoidable tragedy. RIP young lad.

[animatic]

who on Samui is responsible for this ... ? local council not enforcing proper guidelines to PEA ? PEA not installing as required ?

someone must be held accountable ...... a little boys life has been taken because of someone's incompetence !!

so the incompetent one should pay.

It could as easily been, or more likely was, a resort or bungalow telling their janitor to run an electric line out to some tables and lights on poles stuck in the sand for ' beach dinning'.

220v is deadly enough, especially in a wet environment let alone a high tension wire not buried deep enough. PEA knows that can cause an unapproachable flaming animal or person in seconds. Those get buried quite deep, below clam diggers, boat props, and people just on the beach. It's the non-electricians playing with loose wires which is the great danger.

PEA installations that I have seen are generally done OK. The one great cock-up is not providing transformer/capacitor banks to balance load, as done world wide, and making individuals or resorts pay from them themselves, 300k and up, rather than all customers pay for necessary load balancing equally in tiny amounts of their bills.

The main trunk cables feeding Samui and the other islands are buried meters down below beach. But all sorts of amateur none electrician involved things get done, after market so to speak.

RIP the little one, what a horror for him and his family.

Edited February 26, 2016 by animatic

[johnno2]

RIP little one. And who the H. lays ungrounded electrical wires in shallow beach sand? Un-F**king-believable! Electrical safety is so pathetic here. THIS is what the government should be addressing, not the dozens of BS issues to make headlines.

same as all electrical wiring here, its "sort of" ok to lay it shallow but it should be enclosed on "the blue plastic piping" at least and the wires should be connected correctly, not twisted together. . yes electrical safety is pathetic here. lets add it to the list of pathetic safety standards, driving, motorcycling, footpaths, my God, its a big list.

and before anyone comes here bagging me, i don't speak thai and yes, i should go back too my old country if i don't like it here

[johnno2]

On the first on-line articles of the 24th February at 18:56, 24min.com and TeleBasel referred to farang.com as source.
Even the printed versions of Blick or Basler Zeitung refer to farang.com as source.
From my understanding, the source IS in Thailand even if you don't find a date and time on farang.com.

So not quite sure what you want to imply Maestro?

i think he's trying tp imply that the news came from a farang source, not a thailand news source IE nation, bangkok post etc

[gilbreth99]

who on Samui is responsible for this ... ? local council not enforcing proper guidelines to PEA ? PEA not installing as required ?

someone must be held accountable ...... a little boys life has been taken because of someone's incompetence !!

so the incompetent one should pay.

Not been in Thailand very long?

[Adeeos]

Sooo a normal, cheap plastic coated wire was run under abrasive sand, mix in salt water, and what could possibly go wrong???... Very EASY to avoid these incidents... Wire run inside sealed plastic conduit, add a ground fault breaker on each, BUT that would require, 1, a proper 3rd, ground wire system, and 2, a small extra cost per conduit run, Again, a few Baht trumps someones life, And more than likely, they'll just replace the single bad wire that killed the boy,, and leave the rest until each one kills someone else, then replace as needed,,,

[Minnehaha]

Another question:

Who on Samui (Thailand) squashed this story?

This hasn't come to the surface until the Swiss media published it.

There are no Thai news source references to it.

R.I.P. little dude.

it was not reported because the military govt has restricted reporting in so many ways it is impossible to list (for me). One example is the International New York Times stopped printing here Dec 2015. After multiple censorship of articles and probably other factors they decided to stop. Also, where is the Asian Wall Street Journal? I dont see it anywhere for months. Have they stopped? We are left with the Nation which is useless, and the B Post which is not much better. Journos do what they can but it seems like re-education camps have had an influence.

Supporting reference - a good article by T. Fuller who wrote for a well known paper for years and recently left to another location. It was published last week or so. Impunity was a key word in the piece.

[CoreanoOzzie]

RIP, what a devastating tragedy. This should not be happening..

[rosst]

So looks like the 'resort owner' most likely had some cheap Chinese 2-wire extension cords buried in the wet sand for these beach lamps.

What could possibly go wrong?

Thanks for the graphic, now I grasp it.

Property owners responsibility and where is the permit for this work, who did it and who signed off on it?

Oh, you don't know?

If that is the case then YOU are responsible, negligent homicide off to the cheese factory for ten years.

[brownknees]

Walk round any market and see the number of extensions lying around and in water as well!Multiple outlets that should blow a 10 amp fuse in them so the fuse probably by passed !Ever felt the cable from a wall socket to extension while a kettle is on?It gets warm!!

So how to raise standards here?Not many electricians here actually understand the word standards and most of the electrical fittings and stuff is Chinese and sub standard. Unlike Europe where they have to pass tests before being imported,not so here so it will happen again and again until Thailand is snowed under with protests from outside influences to get their act together over this appalling system.

[dieseldave1951]

as if there is not enough death on the road here, but its only a tourists son, so the hunt is on for a a scape goat, what the hell is a power cable doing on a beach so close to the sea, bound to be illegal supply to some-ware

enforcement??? guidelines??? probalay REQUIRED by some d--k that just needed some power,it would not surprise me if its some illeagal connection and just left there alive

its so sad when you read this sort of tragic incidents but its all to regular, and no doubt there will be no body bought to boot for this

who on Samui is responsible for this ... ? local council not enforcing proper guidelines to PEA ? PEA not installing as required ?

someone must be held accountable ...... a little boys life has been taken because of someone's incompetence !!

so the incompetent one should pay.

[Langsuan Man]

The only way we have been able to prevent this type of senseless negligence in the West is through litigation

Until Thailand's lawyers start taking cases on contingency nothing will change

Since money is number one in Thailand the only way to get their attention is to take some a lot of their money

in the US they litigate in Europe they legislate.

the problem with litigation is that it can only be done AFTER the incident.

Yes, and that is why there are actual damages and punitive damages to keep it from happening again

You can't expect legislation in Thailand, the elite would never pass laws that could possibly cost them