Foreigner in fatal plunge from Patong guesthouse

[webfact]

Breaking News: Foreigner in fatal plunge from Patong guesthouse
Phuket Gazette


Nearby the woman's body police found a mobile phone. Photo: Sampawat Wannasangkam

PHUKET: A foreign woman was killed after falling from Good Dreams Guesthouse in Patong this afternoon.

"At this point, we are unsure if the woman fell from the balcony of a room or the roof of the building. Either way, she landed on the roof of a nearby building," said Sampawat Wannasangkam from the Patong Office of Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Breaking-News-Foreigner-fatal-plunge-Patong-guesthouse/63549?desktopversion


-- Phuket Gazette 2016-03-28

[LivinginKata]

Yet another one ... rest in peace lady ...

[nev]

Balconies in Thailand have no height regulations like in the west, in Australia it is a minimum of 1m, I have seen many in Thailand way below that height so it makes it very easy to tumble over. Rip young lady.

[JHolmesJr]

"...the Patong Office of Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation."

What a name!!!!!

[lemonjelly]

How many balcony drops so far this year?

It's getting ridiculous

[JHolmesJr]

Bizarre reporting…what are they trying to insinuate?

Patong Police are investigating a foreign man found at the scene. The heavily-tattooed man, who police have yet to publicly identify, was wearing a 'Dope It' t-shirt.

[gomangosteen]

Balconies in Thailand have no height regulations like in the west, in Australia it is a minimum of 1m, I have seen many in Thailand way below that height so it makes it very easy to tumble over. Rip young lady.

Point out that it is now 1000mm, however prior to the current Code of Practice it was 850mm, and there is no requirement for older buildings to be updated to new standard, there will be many thousands of buildings from before mid 80s that have these lower railings.

NZ has 1000mm for residential and 1100mm for commercial buildings

At 1.87m those older ones are far too low for me to lean against.

Refer:http://www.healthsafety.com.au/balustrade-and-railing-height-regulations/

[Gulfsailor]

Balconies in Thailand have no height regulations like in the west, in Australia it is a minimum of 1m, I have seen many in Thailand way below that height so it makes it very easy to tumble over. Rip young lady.

Balconies in Australia have poor height regulations like in the West, in the Netherlands it is a minimum of 1.2m for 4stories or higher, I have seen many in Australia way below that height, so it makes it very easy to tumble over.

Ps. Building regulations like these are generally based on its general population's height, which in Thailand was a lot less than in Australia, and in Australia is less than in the Netherlands. So one could say that the balcony railing are too low in Thailand or Australia, or that some visiting foreigners are just too tall.

[snoop1130]

Finnish woman, 19, dies in Patong hotel fall
The Phuket News


Police are questioning witnesses over the death of the 19-year-old Finnish woman who died at a Patong hotel this afternoon (Mar 28). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

PHUKET: -- A 19-year-old Finnish woman fell to her death at a hotel in Patong this afternoon (Mar 28).

Police have yet to determine how the woman came to fall, but The Phuket News understands that witnesses at the scene are being questioned.

Full Story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/finnish-woman-19-dies-in-patong-hotel-fall-56802.php

-- Phuket News 2016-03-28

[luke000]

Bizarre reporting…what are they trying to insinuate?

Patong Police are investigating a foreign man found at the scene. The heavily-tattooed man, who police have yet to publicly identify, was wearing a 'Dope It' t-shirt.

That he may someway be involved ?

[happy chappie]

To have a balcony 200mm higher would cost say 20 blocks x 5 baht plus the sand and cement render say 100 baht plus a days labour 300-400 baht.say 600 baht all in or a nights rental in a guesthouse.maybe saving 10 tourists a year.no no,it's only falang and they've paid for the room already and we get a bit of free advertisement.oh and while we are at it lets put the shower heads in at 4ft 7in and they'll soon get peed off in there and we can save water.they are more intelligent than we think.

[NamKangMan]

19 years old. Way too young.

Toxicology report would be interesting.

RIP

[Rob13]

Too many stories like this.

[JHolmesJr]

Bizarre reportingwhat are they trying to insinuate?

Patong Police are investigating a foreign man found at the scene. The heavily-tattooed man, who police have yet to publicly identify, was wearing a 'Dope It' t-shirt.

That he may someway be involved ?

Hows it relevant what his tshirt says?

[uthaithanirules]

With these ones, why does everyone assume either suicide or balcony height first?

I suspect more are foul play than we think, especially ones where people are likely to assume suicide first

Although not in this case, In this case I think most will assume drugs/alcohol given she's 19 and at a backpackers hotel

Pushed off by some roided up falang because she made fun of his advances, possible. Always possible pushed off by a thai thats stole her cash

[grumpyoldman]

19 ! Oh no, so sorry for the family back home. RIP

[ChrisY1]

To have a balcony 200mm higher would cost say 20 blocks x 5 baht plus the sand and cement render say 100 baht plus a days labour 300-400 baht.say 600 baht all in or a nights rental in a guesthouse.maybe saving 10 tourists a year.no no,it's only falang and they've paid for the room already and we get a bit of free advertisement.oh and while we are at it lets put the shower heads in at 4ft 7in and they'll soon get peed off in there and we can save water.they are more intelligent than we think.

A basic summation of the balcony height situation....and fair enough....but, there's a lot more in these issues than just the height of the railings unfortunately.....

[Jeremy50]

"...the Patong Office of Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation."

What a name!!!!!

Should be - The Patong Department for the Prevention and Mitigation of Disasters, or more simply - Patong Disaster Control Center. Not that it would help anyone much. We are all doomed in the long run.

[Yahooka]

To have a balcony 200mm higher would cost say 20 blocks x 5 baht plus the sand and cement render say 100 baht plus a days labour 300-400 baht.say 600 baht all in or a nights rental in a guesthouse.maybe saving 10 tourists a year.no no,it's only falang and they've paid for the room already and we get a bit of free advertisement.oh and while we are at it lets put the shower heads in at 4ft 7in and they'll soon get peed off in there and we can save water.they are more intelligent than we think.

A basic summation of the balcony height situation....and fair enough....but, there's a lot more in these issues than just the height of the railings unfortunately.....

Most cases are accidental because of the height of the railings and the very few others are suicides.

[Nasrullah]

To have a balcony 200mm higher would cost say 20 blocks x 5 baht plus the sand and cement render say 100 baht plus a days labour 300-400 baht.say 600 baht all in or a nights rental in a guesthouse.maybe saving 10 tourists a year.no no,it's only falang and they've paid for the room already and we get a bit of free advertisement.oh and while we are at it lets put the shower heads in at 4ft 7in and they'll soon get peed off in there and we can save water.they are more intelligent than we think.

A basic summation of the balcony height situation....and fair enough....but, there's a lot more in these issues than just the height of the railings unfortunately.....

Spare us the breakdown.........stay alert....sober.....and umm ..a little common sense......

common sense will take you a long way on a tram!

[godden]

Condolences to the family a sad loss for them.

[Srikcir]

unsure if the woman fell from the balcony of a room or the roof of the building

[mesterm]

Bizarre reportingwhat are they trying to insinuate?

Patong Police are investigating a foreign man found at the scene. The heavily-tattooed man, who police have yet to publicly identify, was wearing a 'Dope It' t-shirt.

That he may someway be involved ?

Hows it relevant what his tshirt says?

Maybe that's as far as their investigate reporting can go.

[Jimbo2014]

Very sad. You have to wonder. Is it just foreigners that are susceptible to poor balcony construction. Proportionally - shouldnt there be 1000s of thais plunging to their doom annually? Is this a plague just affecting tourists?

[sawadee1947]

Balconies in Thailand have no height regulations like in the west, in Australia it is a minimum of 1m, I have seen many in Thailand way below that height so it makes it very easy to tumble over. Rip young lady.

Point out that it is now 1000mm, however prior to the current Code of Practice it was 850mm, and there is no requirement for older buildings to be updated to new standard, there will be many thousands of buildings from before mid 80s that have these lower railings.

NZ has 1000mm for residential and 1100mm for commercial buildings

At 1.87m those older ones are far too low for me to lean against.

Refer:http://www.healthsafety.com.au/balustrade-and-railing-height-regulations/

In principal I agree but on the other hand nobody forces you to go so near to the balcony's rails. It's actually your own fault if you take the deadly step. Knowing the danger you can avoid it.

[MyFriend You]

Bizarre reportingwhat are they trying to insinuate?

Patong Police are investigating a foreign man found at the scene. The heavily-tattooed man, who police have yet to publicly identify, was wearing a 'Dope It' t-shirt.

That he may someway be involved ?

Hows it relevant what his tshirt says?

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it just might be a duck - he is a person of interest, and just might have had somthing to do with it.................you're not in Kansas anymore, This it Thailand

[Roomuck]

Balconies in Thailand have no height regulations like in the west, in Australia it is a minimum of 1m, I have seen many in Thailand way below that height so it makes it very easy to tumble over. Rip young lady.

Point out that it is now 1000mm, however prior to the current Code of Practice it was 850mm, and there is no requirement for older buildings to be updated to new standard, there will be many thousands of buildings from before mid 80s that have these lower railings.

NZ has 1000mm for residential and 1100mm for commercial buildings

At 1.87m those older ones are far too low for me to lean against.

Refer:http://www.healthsafety.com.au/balustrade-and-railing-height-regulations/

In principal I agree but on the other hand nobody forces you to go so near to the balcony's rails. It's actually your own fault if you take the deadly step. Knowing the danger you can avoid it.

Yeah it seems to be farangness, falling off these balconies. The Thais don't seem to suffer from it nearly as much.

Changing the building codes for the whole country, who don't seem to have a problem, because a small number of Farangs from nanny states who can't seem to use common sense, or get too drunk etc. is asking a bit much I reckon.

What next? Safety nets at the bottom of all buildings over ten feet high?

[steven100]

oh dear ! she was only 19 ..... was she pushed ?? did she jump ??

this is sad ..... no life after death ...

[SOTIRIOS]

....what a shame.....

...condolences to her family.....

[kwak250]

According to thai newspapers they were a couple and arguing when she apparently jumped .

I have not seen this in English newspapers just what i have been told the Thai newspapers reported.

I find there is a huge difference in the reports so many times on these types of cases.