DROWNINGS would have occurred at Karon and Kata beaches on Sunday if local people had not taken the initiative and used jet-skis to carry out rescues, a community leader said today.
Winai Chidcheaw, who heads the Karon ''1000 eyes of the pineapple'' security and safety campaign, said eight people had to be helped from the surf at Kata yesterday and five more from Karon.
''There are just not enough lifeguards and they do not have the right equipment,'' he said. ''We are worried that the high season will bring more deaths, too.''
The jet-skis were provided by the Karon Jet-ski Association.
''A rubber dinghy just is not good enough in difficult conditions,'' Khun Winai said. ''There are serious problems when more than one person is struggling to stay above the waves.''
Rescue experts say the best equipment for multiple simultaneous rescues is a jet-ski with a platform on the rear.
A jet-ski enables a rider to see from a sufficiently elevated position who is in the water and which people need help most urgently.
One young girl was among many drownings at Phuket beaches this year when a rescuer on a surfboard plucked her companion to safety but did not spot her friend.
Local people say the Orborjor's paid lifeguards are not good enough and more are needed to cover Phuket's beaches properly.
Under the Orborjor scheme, there are three pods each of three lifeguards on Karon, two pods on Kata and one on Kata Noi.
Complicating the search for safety for residents and tourists is the lack of coordination between the paid lifeguards and the groups that supported the island's second Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival on Saturday.
Tourists who come to Phuket in the monsoon season and are determined to have a beach holiday tend to ignore warning signs and red flags in their keenness to enjoy a swim in the sea.
Some tourists from countries where most swimming is done in rivers and lakes have little understanding of the dangers of rip-currents that form off Phuket's popular western beaches between May and October.
Many resorts take responsibility for the safety of guests within their boundaries and only comprehend the horror of a holiday drowning when one of their customers becomes a victim.
Phuket's Future Lifesavers Cap a Great DayWinai Chidcheaw, who heads the Karon ''1000 eyes of the pineapple'' security and safety campaign, said eight people had to be helped from the surf at Kata yesterday and five more from Karon.
''There are just not enough lifeguards and they do not have the right equipment,'' he said. ''We are worried that the high season will bring more deaths, too.''
The jet-skis were provided by the Karon Jet-ski Association.
''A rubber dinghy just is not good enough in difficult conditions,'' Khun Winai said. ''There are serious problems when more than one person is struggling to stay above the waves.''
Rescue experts say the best equipment for multiple simultaneous rescues is a jet-ski with a platform on the rear.
A jet-ski enables a rider to see from a sufficiently elevated position who is in the water and which people need help most urgently.
One young girl was among many drownings at Phuket beaches this year when a rescuer on a surfboard plucked her companion to safety but did not spot her friend.
Local people say the Orborjor's paid lifeguards are not good enough and more are needed to cover Phuket's beaches properly.
Under the Orborjor scheme, there are three pods each of three lifeguards on Karon, two pods on Kata and one on Kata Noi.
Complicating the search for safety for residents and tourists is the lack of coordination between the paid lifeguards and the groups that supported the island's second Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival on Saturday.
Tourists who come to Phuket in the monsoon season and are determined to have a beach holiday tend to ignore warning signs and red flags in their keenness to enjoy a swim in the sea.
Some tourists from countries where most swimming is done in rivers and lakes have little understanding of the dangers of rip-currents that form off Phuket's popular western beaches between May and October.
Many resorts take responsibility for the safety of guests within their boundaries and only comprehend the horror of a holiday drowning when one of their customers becomes a victim.
Photo Album Colored lifesaving caps sat on young heads at Phuket's Lifesaving Carnival at Loma Park. The hope is that inculcating a beach rescue culture will prevent needless drownings.
Phuket's Future Lifesavers Cap a Great Day
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One thing more, the people who did holidays for e.g. at Europa's beaches, they experienced much higher waves then this here, but without this rip currents. So they see the waves and think: know it, done it, and maybe even think the Thais cannot swim. So they see the red flag but ignore it, because they think they know better.
I am a sports swimmer and helped on one occasion a kid out the waters myself. But I do not go inside the waves, just to not give a bad example to the not professionals.
Even when the waves look modest in comparison to north sea shore breakers, they are mean bitches here.
Posted by Lena on October 6, 2009 10:20