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

[derekwyoung]

A few weeks agoI had an electrician add a extra twin socket in my workshop , I provided him with three core cable to do the job, guess what I wanted to move the socket a couple of inches, and unscrewed it only to find that he had cut off the earth lead , so I decided to rewire it my self so I go to the other end where he had connected into the existing socket and yes he had cut off the earth again and instead of connecting the the live and neutral into the existing socket connections that were available unused on the socket for the specific purpose of adding another socket he had striped the oridigtnal insalation back off the wire and then twisted the new wires around the originals with a bit of black tape on top to cover his handy work. no wonder many people die in thailand from electrical shock . Has any one done a comparison between road deaths and electrical shock deaths, and how would a normal house hold know that there house was badly/wrongly wired.

so sorry for the little boy. derek

[sandrabbit]

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,,,

The cable really should be armoured with the armoured outer sheath grounded so if the cable is cut then the live is shorted to armour blowing the fuse or tripping the breaker and if an rcd is fitted that should trip first. I don't think an rcd would work in this situation as the cables probably don't have enough insulation resistance after being there for a while with water ingress. I have the same problem in the kitchen of my condo, I fitted an rcd into my consumer unit and it started tripping and I found the insulation resistance was so low I could measure it with a multimeter, a megger wasn't needed. The funny thing was that the condo had been renovated before I bought it .......

Edited February 26, 2016 by sandrabbit

[Lee4Life]

Here we go again , not the first time tourists gets electrocuted and it will not be the last time. Remember the kid in the shower some time ago (no earth connection) ? Or the young guy that was electrocuted when he was walking in a flooded soi? Or the kid electrocuted in the swimming pool ?

This is only a few incidents reported in the news the last 2 years. Parents should just protect their kids at all time here.

Nothing will happen. TIT.

While I agree with most of your points, the statement that "parents should just protect their kids at all times" doesn't really help in this case. The parents only let their child play in the sand on the beach.

[sunnitimes]

Have had three dimmer switches burn out and one totally melted down (melted the cover plate and fused to the adjacent switch) in the four months I have been in my newly renovated condo. Think it is time for a different electrician!

RIP to the young man. Electricity and water is a fatal mixture.

[DaveinAsia]

In the end it all has to do with greed. If the resort wouldn't have been so greedy and put their hand in their pocket for a 'real' electrician this would never have happened.

In the 'real' world the owner would be up for death through negligence but he is probably connected to the Puyai of Maenam and will have to pay him a few grand 'compensation' for the loss of face. Case closed.

RIP little dude

[sandrabbit]

In the end it all has to do with greed. If the resort wouldn't have been so greedy and put their hand in their pocket for a 'real' electrician this would never have happened.

In the 'real' world the owner would be up for death through negligence but he is probably connected to the Puyai of Maenam and will have to pay him a few grand 'compensation' for the loss of face. Case closed.

RIP little dude

I think they call it corporate manslaughter in the UK.

[Autonuaq]

the issue is the that way of installing things and stubbornness.

they have the right tools, right parts and right equipment to do it safe and right.

is thought them how to do it right and correct

To save a few bath and/or, neglecting proper maintenance and or neglecting proper repair and/or not inspecting by the authorities make things like this happening over and over again.

This is Thailand, not forget This is Thailand as the Thai many times tell you when you point things like this out.

[NCC1701A]

i hope everyone on thaivisa has a twitter account. it is free and easy. if you want to get the word out about something that is being covered up all you have to do i type:

#thailand. Seven year old #Swiss boy dies after being electrocuted on #Samui beach. #richardbarrow #bbc #cnn

Edited February 26, 2016 by NCC1701A

[Canuk23]

What a great idea put some lights on the beach and just bury the wires with no conduit and no ground

what could go wrong ???

A 7 year old lost his life because of the hotel that didn't want to spend the money for a safe installation

they should be closed down and sued.

R.I.P.

[elgordo38]

The Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs have just issued a multi-page 'Advice for travellers to Thailand'

This covers some of the many, many problems in this country, ranging from terrorism in the south, drink spiking, jet skis, overstaying, muggings on the beaches where an Australian travel agent was murdered, a double murder on Koh Samui, below-standard safety railings. Little mention was made about the rather strange driving habits and poor driver training.

Sadly, they seem to have missed electrical safety, or lack of it, unearthed electrical systems nation-wide, and now we have cables buried on a beach and a child has been killed.

Little wonder the news was suppressed.

As the country seems to rely heavily on tourism and attracting us farangs to come here, it's about time they started looking at protecting its tourists and population in general.

If they have to spend money its a none starter issue.

[elgordo38]

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.

If you want all of this done the price of everything has to go up. Come for a cheap holiday take your chances. This is not the west by a long shot.

[springheeled jack]

absolutely shocking a young boy is electrocuted while playing on a beach ,why was a power cable laid on a beach in the first place a case of gross ineptitude .

[StatlerandWaldorf]

Absolutely devastating, my heart goes out to the family and friends of this little boy.

The standards of electrical work in Thailand are at best abysmal, I never let anyone mess around with the electrics in my house as they have repeatedly demonstrated that their level of knowledge does not even come close to a basic understanding of electrical principles.

Just what are they teaching in the myriad of vocational colleges in this country?

[Varangkul]

A few weeks agoI had an electrician add a extra twin socket in my workshop , I provided him with three core cable to do the job, guess what I wanted to move the socket a couple of inches, and unscrewed it only to find that he had cut off the earth lead , so I decided to rewire it my self so I go to the other end where he had connected into the existing socket and yes he had cut off the earth again and instead of connecting the the live and neutral into the existing socket connections that were available unused on the socket for the specific purpose of adding another socket he had striped the oridigtnal insalation back off the wire and then twisted the new wires around the originals with a bit of black tape on top to cover his handy work. no wonder many people die in thailand from electrical shock . Has any one done a comparison between road deaths and electrical shock deaths, and how would a normal house hold know that there house was badly/wrongly wired.

so sorry for the little boy. derek

Looks as if you and I shared the same "electrician'! I also provided 3-core cable for some extension work. Wired in all right- only not terminated at the supply end! Found when a further extension was being planned!

[Jeremy50]

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?

Beach lamps! Let me guess, the damn things stay on all night.

[Khunangkaro]

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

.

I think with you....

And in (far?) future LED lightning compulsory! (NOT!)

.

[gilbreth99]

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

.

I think with you....

And in (far?) future LED lightning compulsory! (NOT!)

.

Does anyone know the hotel or restaurant?

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/04/27/settlement-deal-reached-in-hotel-pool-electrocution/26479193/

This was also interesting million dollar settlement. Would never happen here, which is why these things continue and continue....

[gilbreth99]

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?

Beach lamps! Let me guess, the damn things stay on all night.

Anybody know which hotel or restaurant it was?

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2015/04/27/settlement-deal-reached-in-hotel-pool-electrocution/26479193/

[Jedsada3]

Very sad... RIP little man

[gilbreth99]

Very sad... RIP little man

For a few pennies...he will never know love, life, marriage, career, sex, fatherhood, shame on the Thais again. Life here has little meaning or value. Yes, accidents happen everywhere. But, with far less frequency per capita, and when they do happen, measures are taken to implement punishment and prevention. That's the difference.

[balo]

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

Maybe a solar lamp pole would be a better option, with all the sun here it will be enough power to run them all night. Here in Pattaya we already have them at several resorts.

Edited February 26, 2016 by balo

[Asheron]

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.

Yes, the extremely high penalty of like 500 baht.

[Colabamumbai]

Thailand shows itself once again, having just being rated No. 173 on the safest places for foreigners.

[edhart]

How do you protect yourself from this? Could have happened to anyone... Tragic... RIP little guy..

could happened to anyone ,BUT NOT EVERYWHERE

[off road pat]

The Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs have just issued a multi-page 'Advice for travellers to Thailand'

This covers some of the many, many problems in this country, ranging from terrorism in the south, drink spiking, jet skis, overstaying, muggings on the beaches where an Australian travel agent was murdered, a double murder on Koh Samui, below-standard safety railings. Little mention was made about the rather strange driving habits and poor driver training.

Sadly, they seem to have missed electrical safety, or lack of it, unearthed electrical systems nation-wide, and now we have cables buried on a beach and a child has been killed.

Little wonder the news was suppressed.

As the country seems to rely heavily on tourism and attracting us farangs to come here, it's about time they started looking at protecting its tourists and population in general.

Nah,..won't happen,...it's cheaper to suppress the press.....

[PoorSucker]

Thailand shows itself once again, having just being rated No. 173 on the safest places for foreigners.

Bangkok was rated no 173.

Safer to live in Nakhon Nowhere.

[Moonsterk]

The Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs have just issued a multi-page 'Advice for travellers to Thailand'

This covers some of the many, many problems in this country, ranging from terrorism in the south, drink spiking, jet skis, overstaying, muggings on the beaches where an Australian travel agent was murdered, a double murder on Koh Samui, below-standard safety railings. Little mention was made about the rather strange driving habits and poor driver training.

Sadly, they seem to have missed electrical safety, or lack of it, unearthed electrical systems nation-wide, and now we have cables buried on a beach and a child has been killed.

Little wonder the news was suppressed.

As the country seems to rely heavily on tourism and attracting us farangs to come here, it's about time they started looking at protecting its tourists and population in general.

Nah,..won't happen,...it's cheaper to suppress the press.....

No need whatsoever to change anything with what- 500 million middle to high income Chinese lining up to come on a tour.

The Reign of Farang is over.

[CoreanoOzzie]

Thailand shows itself once again, having just being rated No. 173 on the safest places for foreigners.

Can't believe some stupid survey, did it ever occur to you that people skew stats in their favour to manipulate gullible people's minds? Probably not though.

[inzman]

No repercussions. No responsibility. Mai pen lai, so third world. And they even suppressed the news. Disgusting!

[elviajero]

There are no words!

RIP little man.