PHUKET: Songkran celebrations began in Patong as always a day earlier than on the rest of the holiday island of Phuket, with Tourist Police reporting there were few problems in the Soi Bangla walking street and along beach road. The big splash continues on Monday, with the whole of Phuket joining in.
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So glad everyone is enjoying the festival while my brother is missing and the useless marine police have decided he is unimportant as he is just one person. Posted by Anonymous on April 13, 2015 09:15 Editor Comment: This is why all questions about the issue are valid. Without prompting from an embassy, full-scale searches at sea seldom happen here the way they would in developed countries. There was a case a few years back where a dive boat capsized. The 23 people who escaped and made in into liferafts eventually had to wave to a trawler and used the captain's mobile telephone to call in their own rescue. The searchers were looking in the wrong place. Seven people went down with the dive boat. There is usually a lot of activity on the water - fishing boats and tourist vessels. But full-scale searches - especially involving aircraft and helicopters - are seldom mounted. The deficiencies of the system are constantly raised by PW and a few others. Not much changes. We are sorry - and anxious to trigger rapid improvement. Please make the point as strongly as possible, any way you can. 
ED: Most countries with a coast line have a coastguard equipped with high speed search and rescue boats (lifeboats in UK), search and rescue helicopters that would be scrambled from the time the first report of somebody possibly lost at sea arrives at a rescue coordination centre. Unfortunately Thailand is one of the few countries that does not have such a facility. My thoughts go out to all the family concerned by this tragic incident. Thailand should be embarrassed by its own inactions. Posted by Pete on April 13, 2015 09:55 Editor Comment: Most developed countries have those pieces of equipment. Most developing countries do not. But given its wealth derived from the millions of dollars provided by tourists, one would expect a better service in Thailand and commitment to the standards of developed countries. Lack of a proper reaction is appalling. The problem is that officials on Phuket and in Thailand are not interested in what the rest of the world does or thinks. 
Sadly life in Thailand is not treasured like it is in the West, many Thais believe in good luck or bad luck and you only need to look at how many drunks there are driving today of all days. So far over the last 3 days of festivities for Songkran there are over 120 road deaths and this is normal. Posted by Welcome To Paradise on April 13, 2015 15:01 
Anonymous, I hope a rescue team will find your brother timely and safe him. But don't expect to much from governmental organisations here. I went for urgent police assitence two days ago. Their answer "come back after the holidays. Posted by phuketgreed on April 13, 2015 16:10 |
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Happy Songkran, a day of water around.
Just let forget today that in Kata/Karon many private water wells are empty, and water tankers have to supply water to citizens in areas were is no 'city-water'.. There is drought on Phuket!
Posted by Kurt on April 13, 2015 07:31