Must Read Briton survives three days in the jungle after Samui waterfall plunge

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Briton survives three days in the jungle after Samui waterfall plunge

 

Image: Sanook

 

KOH SAMUI:-- A British man who fell at a Koh Samui waterfall was found yesterday after being missing for three days.

 

Gerrard Paul Greenhoff, 38, (name transliterated) broke his right leg and could not move. He survived by drinking stream water.

 

He was only found after a local in Mae Nam saw a motorbike parked near a path leading down to the Khun Sri falls.

 

Police checked the plate of the bike with rental shops and found it had been rented to the missing man. It still took several hours to locate him in the seldom visited and isolated area.

 

He was found totally exhausted by a stream. He had eaten nothing for three days.

 

Medics in the search party immediately put him on a drip as he was carefully carried out of the area via a steep path.

 

It took more than two hours to bring him up and ferry him to International Koh Samui Hospital.

 

Doctors said he was in a serious condition but responsive.

 

Sanook reported that it was lucky that a local had seen his bike or the tourist may have died at the scene.

 

Though the falls are small the area is not monitored or look after by any officials.

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-07-13

 

 

 

[pumpjack]

good job by local thais and emergency services ,  oh .......and for once the police 

[canuckamuck]

Fortunate in many ways, not the least of which was a Thai person who didn't say, that's nothing to do with me. 

[saakura]

"Sanook reported that it was lucky that a local had seen his bike or the tourist may have died at the scene."

 

And had he died, the speculations from both police (suicide) and TV (murder) would have begun.

[Samui Bodoh]

With all the crappy things going on in the world, it is very nice to read a good news story

 

To the local who found him, to the EMS people, and to the police;

 

WELL DONE!

[wump]

Certainly his critical condition was not caused by lack of food? Probably more to do with heat exhaustion and the injuries he sustained.

 

Quote

In a 1997 editorial in the British Medical Journal, Peel briefly reviewed the available literature regarding human starvation. Generally, it appears as though humans can survive without any food for 30-40 days, as long as they are properly hydrated. Severe symptoms of starvation begin around 35-40 days, and as highlighted by the hunger strikers of the Maze Prison in Belfast in the 1980s, death can occur at around  45­ to 61 days.

 

[tomwct]

The Brits have had a run of bad luck lately! From deportations to accidents! Something is in the water!

[Elfin]

He was lucky the Monitor lizards did not find him. Yes well done to the Thai and all the rescue personnel.

[wvavin]

Seems like the British have a great tendency of injury or death in this country.

[csabo]

11 hours ago, pumpjack said:

good job by local thais and emergency services ,  oh .......and for once the police 

Why wasn't the area checked  after the first night of seeing the abandoned motorbike?

[Hayduke]

Surprising…that the authorities aren’t calling this a failed suicide attempt.

[Tidybeard]

5 minutes ago, csabo said:

Why wasn't the area checked  after the first night of seeing the abandoned motorbike?

I know this place... it is a small remote waterfall at the end of a 3 Km dirt track. The only people to go there would be the OCCASIONAL passing farmer checking on their Coconuts and Durian. 

This guy was lucky !.... when I visited there with some friends it looked like the track hadn't been used for weeks....

Pretty stupid to go there alone.

[lemonjelly]

Get well soon chap !!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[ksamuiguy]

Good job locals and rescue crew.

[swanny321]

    Word must've gone out - ''Keep an eye on the cash-flow.''

[wump]

Judging by the amount of Tripadvisor reviews and the "Certficate of Excellence" I find it a bit strange that nobody found him earlier. It's just off the main road from Lamai to Mae Nam. Was he hiking there through the jungle or something?

[PoorSucker]

No cellphone?

[wump]

Poor coverage inland, especially when in a gorge. But seriously, there must be more to this story. There is a huge viewing platform 5 minutes before the falls and some reviews go like

 

Quote

We stopped of to see the waterfall whilst on an island tour,it was very busy,great little shops for souvenirs well worth a visit,we would have liked to stay longer

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by wump

[mikosan]

Well done to all involved, but I agree that, in retrospect, maybe it would have been an idea to travel with a friend.  Next time. 

[aslimversgwm]

12 hours ago, pumpjack said:

good job by local thais and emergency services ,  oh .......and for once the police 

Absolutely. Well done all concerned. Rock on Thailand! 

[dotpoom]

12 hours ago, pumpjack said:

good job by local thais and emergency services ,  oh .......and for once the police 

This is the only one time you have seen police in Thailand  getting a job done?

[sawadee1947]

Good that he got water. No Food is not the problem for 3 days but the broken leg

[PomPolo]

Waterfall spirits pissed off again?

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[PoorSucker]

51 minutes ago, wump said:

Poor coverage inland, especially when in a gorge. But seriously, there must be more to this story. There is a huge viewing platform 5 minutes before the falls and some reviews go like

 

Quote

We stopped of to see the waterfall whilst on an island tour,it was very busy,great little shops for souvenirs well worth a visit,we would have liked to stay longer

 

 

That's sounds like Namuang 2, another waterfall.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

Nice ending but what the hell was he doing alone walking up there and not having told anyone where he was going?  He is very, very lucky. We ride up there all the time and usually see no one. It is indeed remote.

[Juan B Tong]

Definition of stupid

1. 1a :  slow of mind :  obtuseb :  given to unintelligent decisions or acts :  acting in an unintelligent or careless mannerc :  lacking intelligence or reason :  brutish

2. 2:  dulled in feeling or sensation :  torpid still stupidfrom the sedative

3. 3:  marked by or resulting from unreasoned thinking or acting :  senseless a stupid decision

[PoorSucker]

1 hour ago, wump said:

Judging by the amount of Tripadvisor reviews and the "Certficate of Excellence" I find it a bit strange that nobody found him earlier. It's just off the main road from Lamai to Mae Nam. Was he hiking there through the jungle or something?

 

It's not on the main road, it's on the shortcut road through the mountains.

 

[wump]

If I want to go from Lamai to Mae Nam, I take the jungle route so for me it's kind of a main road. Pretty well built and I am not quite sure why not more people are taking it during the daytime.

[PoorSucker]

[wump]

Just an example... Going to immigration is quicker and shorter taking the jungle route