Pattaya Park Death

[ciobha]

Just watched this on the news. I ronically I was there a few weeks ago with kliome and a bevvy of LB's (jimslim was poorly)

Yet another example of the non existant H&S  in LOS, or was the kid to blame?

http://itn.co.uk/#

[Stogie]

The 14-year-old was found dead inside the pump room of the outdoor whirlpool at the Pattaya Water Park.

Witnesses said he could be seen lifting a 4ft square grille at the bottom of the pool before disappearing into the powerful pumping system below.

The distraught family of the teenager claimed it was 30 minutes before the pump room was checked at the resort, which is 85 miles east of Bangkok.

Mr Clark, a tunnel engineer, is reported to have said: €œThe guards did nothing, not for 30 minutes."

He said they would not believe what happened. "They opened a hatch and my son's body came out,€ he said.

It was also reported that Thai cameramen who had gathered at the scene tried to film the teenager€™s body on the floor of the pump room.

Mr Clark, who works for international tunnel construction firm Robbins, said: €œ'I was distraught with what had happened. When I saw the intrusive cameramen I lashed out.€

Nathan€™s 15-year-old brother, Rhys, described the events on a blog.

He wrote: €œThe lifeguard said we shouldn't play jokes like this and dismissed us. My stepmum was begging them to check the pipes.

€œThey argued back saying it's impossible as the grille was locked. After a full 30 minutes they agreed to check the pipes.

€œWhile they were checking, I went to the ticket booth to make an announcement as to whether anyone had seen him.

€œI was coming down the stairs to the main pool when I heard my father shout 'No!' very loudly then my stepmother screaming. If anyone is to blame it should be me. I should have stopped my younger brother.€

Mr Clarke, his two sons and his Thai wife were visiting the water park before they relocated to New Delhi in India, where Mr Clark had been posted. The boys are thought to go to school on the Isle of Man.

Thai police conducted a reconstruction of the accident at the weekend to discover how Nathan was able to open the grille.

Park manager Khun Surapon said the family had been offered compensation but there were "unanswered questions".

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "Our consular people in Thailand are giving assistance at this tragic time for the family."

[paulj92]

its very sad but from what ive read it looks like the kid was to blame

[Snick]

Yea , this was the kind of accident that could have happened anywhere.
You can get angry at the lifeguard for not believing the mother and taking an hour to check, but the kid was almost certainly dead already.

I like Pattaya Park, but I'll wait till the Swine Flu thing fades away.

[manarak]

Yea , this was the kind of accident that could have happened anywhere.

not sure why the grille was not locked, though?

[Socrates999]

Paradoxical thing about Thailand...

Nobody is responsible for anything, while, at the same time, one is totally responsible for oneself.

Do something stupid and get injured? Don't be so stupid next time. Do something stupid and die. Well, you'll never do that again.

Kinda refreshing, in a way. Eliminates the crap we see in the States, where it is the exact opposite of Thailand. Nobody is responsible for him/herself, yet somebody else is always responsible. Put boiling hot coffee between your legs and burn yourself? Must be the fault of the coffeemakers. Crash your car? Sue the company that made the paint.

I feel sorry for the family. their pain/anger must be huge right now. The kid was dumb. The park was also negligent. Certainly, there must be a sensible middle ground.

[Stogie]

Lawyers and the culture of these snakes are sweeping the world. Once it was confined to the lunatic judiciary to the USA but it has spread and mutated into a far more insidious and virulent danger which affects the whole world.

Fortunately though, there are no realistic ways of getting justice in Thailand which keeps a lot of the Western cretinous families away.

This was an example of a family of morons who thought that ripping open an underwater grill was an OK thing to do and then bleated on about the life guards because the Thai staff couldn't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to do it.

The Brits deserve all they get when they travel abroad. They are fucking idiots.

[Tomcat]

(Snick @ Jul. 14 2009,12:34) Yea , this was the kind of accident that could have happened anywhere.
.

Snick is spot on. Its just one of those things ...
You can get sucked under just swimming in a river or the sea if you hit a bad spot.

[f0xxee]

These events used to be closed out in coroners reports as "Death by Misadventure"

Nowadays with legal vultures circling the Western hemisphere someone must be accountable, someone must be sued, a law must be made, yada yada yada.

No, they had it right 40 years ago. It was death by misadventure (as was David Carredine) and no one is to blame except the victim. While I am sorry for the family, the culture where no is resposible for their own safety is the ruination of western culture.

[manarak]

the culture where no is resposible for their own safety is the ruination of western culture.

yes, exactly!


I don't know if Thailand has regulations on how to operate underwater pumps for Swimming Pools (if not, I don't think it needs any) but I'd still fine the park for not locking the damn thing - because not locking it is unsafe, everyone knows that there have been quite a few accidents around the world with people getting sucked in or down by swimming pool pumps.

I doubt that a fast intervention of the lifeguards would have saved the boy, but refusing to go check a reported distress is not acceptable.
I'm sure Thai Law knows the duty to give assistance, and the lifeguards should face the music for not doing their job.


Yet, the boy is entirely responsible for what happened.
The park should not be held responsible for this.

[jimslim]

I pretty much agree with whats been written so far ,freak accidents happen and it seems to be the culture now days to find someone to blame .

Thats why in the courts in the UK now days compensation claims are weighed up on percentages to blame , ie did the person act in a way that caused the accident versus the duty of care of the owners of the place .The big mistake people make is applying the laws and rules of their own countries to other countries .

The smugness of the British press doesn't help either , that "It wouldn't happen in our country " bollocks , take the Madeline McCann case as a prime example , the blame laid on the "bungling Portuguese police " or the stupid law system in that country instead of accepting that the parents neglect played the main role in the tragedy .

Still it must be tragic for the family losing a kid of that age in a tragic accident like that .