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Hoaxer Hits as Phuket Double-Drowning Families Mourn

Hoaxer Hits as Phuket Double-Drowning Families Mourn

Wednesday, August 11, 2010
TALKS between local authorities and resorts are expected to continue as Phuket seeks a solution to safety on its beaches. Fears are held that storm tides over the unofficial four-day holiday that begins on Thursday could trigger more double-drowning disasters.

Some friends of Bahraini tourist Ali Abdulaziz Al Saeed, one of two weekend drowning victims, wondered why there was no helicopter search over Karon beach and beyond for his body, which was missing for 40 hours.

Phuket lifeguards on a tight budget struggle with inadequate equipment and local ambulances are sometimes slow to react. However, the expectations of tourists, especially those from developed countries, are much higher.

Other beach witnesses to incidents consistently question the reaction time of local ambulances, which can take up to 20 minutes to reach Phuket's west coast beaches. This is considered to be unacceptably slow by international standards.

Some victims of drownings on Phuket die slow, lingering deaths because resuscitation techniques are not applied quickly and continued, as they need to be to ensure a full recovery.

Families at distant corners of the globe, in Bahrain and in China, will continue today to mourn the loved ones whose holidays turned to heartache on a disastrous Sunday afternoon on Phuket.

The two drownings took place at neighboring Kata and Karon beaches, almost at the same time.

Mr Al Saeed had planned the Phuket trip with three close friends in celebration of his new job as a physical education teacher at the Education Ministry. He was due to start next month, the Gulf Daily News reported today.

The young man was a member of Bahrain Democratic Youth Society and worked as a lifeguard at Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park from February to July. He resigned after landing a job as a physical education teacher at the ministry.

His body is expected to be flown today from Phuket to Bangkok and on to Bahrain, said the Bahraini consul in Thailand, Khalil Al Khayat. He leaves a father, Abdulaziz, mother Sofia, an older brother and three younger sisters.

Arrangements are also being made to repatriate the remains of the Kata beach drowning victim, Zhao Dakun, 47, whose distraught wife is awaiting the arrival of his parents before a Buddhist cremation takes place.

China's deputy honorary consul for the southern region of Thailand, Qin Jian, told Phuketwan yesterday that four or five people among about 100,000 visitors from China to Phuket each year drown here. More thorough prevention methods were needed, he said.

Six students were also plucked from the sea at Nai Harn on Saturday in a mass rescue.

Water safety experts advocate a ''coordinated solution'' involving all Phuket resorts in stepping up warnings to all guests as they arrive in the April-October monsoon season.

Meanwhile, a cruel email hoax is being perpetrated by someone purporting to represent the ''Thai Lifeguard Club.'' The email, received by Phuketwan, says:

''Please, kindly do this favor for me
I Just want you to know that I'm presently in Spain for a Seminar. I'm really sorry I did not inform you about the trip. It was so urgent and I have to be in the Seminar. I will be glad if I could confide in you because I don't want people to be worried over my situation over here now. Please i want it confidential between the two of us. I actually got my wallet misplaced on my way to the hotel I lodged. My money and other valuable things were kept in the wallet. I would have called you but I'm not mobile right now and I have limited access to the internet. For the main time, you can reach me via my email. Let me confess to you now that I have no money on me because I have blocked my account immediately the incident happened since I lost my cards with the wallet. Please I will like you to assist me with a loan of 2700 euros or any amount you could afford to sort-out my hotel bills and to sustain my living till I'm back home.
''I have been to the embassy and they are taking necessary measures but I really need some fund here to sort out some important ideas. I will appreciate whatever you could afford. Let me know if you would be able to help me with the money or any amount you could afford. I will gladly accept it and I will refund you the money with interest upon my arrival. I can only receive money here with my passport via the western union money transfer service. The western union money transfer service is availalbe in any bank. Below are my details you will need to make the transfer on my name. After the transfer, just email me the money transfer control number [MTCN]. I will greatly appreciate your kindness and fast response.''
Tourist's Body Found; He Was a Lifeguard. Phuket Beach Bosses in Crisis Talks
Updated Report The body of a Bahraini tourist, missing since a double drowning on Phuket on Sunday, has been found. Phuketwan has been told that he was a lifeguard in Bahrain.
Tourist's Body Found; He Was a Lifeguard. Phuket Beach Bosses in Crisis Talks

Phuket Double Drowning Raises Alarm About Resort Safety
PHOTO ALBUM Double drownings at the neighboring Phuket beaches of Karon and Kata underscore the tragic point that resorts must become involved in water awareness and safety immediately.
Phuket Double Drowning Raises Alarm About Resort Safety

Phuket Mass Rescue Saves Six From Drowning
Latest Lifesavers and locals on Nai Harn beach combined to save six children who swam into difficulties while on a picnic. Two students required treatment at Vachira Hospital in Phuket City.
Phuket Mass Rescue Saves Six From Drowning

Phuket Gains from Surfing, Lifesaving Carnivals
Coming Events Swimming and surfing are booming as sports and both help to give Phuket a beach culture that will one day help to improve beach safety standards.
Phuket Gains from Surfing, Lifesaving Carnivals

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In 2001 I was in Chile, just north of Valpariso. All of a sudden there was a police car rushed up the road and the cop dived into the surf, headed out to sea. Within 20 minutes a heli came screaming up the coast at low level, pulled into a hover and rescued the cop and a swimmer who had been swept out to sea. Not bad for a so-called (reformed) police state. In the UK, the RAF might have turned up after tea, biscuits and a three-hour sleep.

Posted by Mister Ree on August 11, 2010 11:42


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