I just don't understand the mentality here.......I guess it is the lack of it !!! How many people have to be killed or maimed ???!!!

ELIMINATE THE JET SKIS FROM THESE BEACHES.....

Posted by arby on April 4, 2010 20:21

''I wish we had been told what to expect out there.'' Would you have listened?

Write down the number of Bangkok Hospital Emergency: 07625 4425 Ext. 1060 - 2. in all your mobile phones. They speak good english. They act fast. Even when you go first into Patong "Hospital", call them and ask and get the needed things done.

Do not trust your friend into the hands of strangers, stay on top. Do not think he is properly taken care of. Make sure. Don't become a passenger of the situation.

That the police took all friends into interrogation is very unfortunate for the victim, one should think about a better solution.

I wish Mr. Loh Ying Jie and his family the best, hopefully he will recover.

The jetski renter should ask himself, why he is so unbelievable (missing a word), not to be ready in cases of accidents, to help his customers.

Ground all jetski until the owners/renters can provide necessary and useful rescue procedures in cases of emergency.

Posted by Lena on April 4, 2010 22:07

Although certainly sympathise with the family of the hurt rider it cannot be ignored that jetskis are inherently dangerous and should be driven with caution if at all. Additionally, this is not Singapore.

It is unreasonable to expect a helicopter at a beach location unless very close to a major city. Bangkok is many miles away. Hope the fellow makes a full recovery.

Posted by billjones on April 5, 2010 03:12

Jetskis are incredibly dangerous, not only for the people driving them, but also for the folks having a swim in the ocean.

Please don't support the jetskis by giving them your money!

Posted by BIgP on April 5, 2010 09:31

BigP said it all.

Posted by Fritz Pinguin on April 5, 2010 09:55

This is another case of untrained safety procedures.
having spoken to the governor on safety in tourism related industries jet skis, go karts, bungy jumps ,etc.There is a lot of training needed to come up to western standards.

no one seems to take any thing seriously here in phuket.
I Know the GOVERNOR is concerned, but because most of the customers are mainly from abroad it needs western trained teachers to train them on safety, but like most things here in phuket, NO ONE LISTENS..... HOW MANY MORE ACCIDENTS OR EVEN DEATHS BEFORE ANY ACTION TAKEN......

Posted by J D on April 6, 2010 12:25

Quote:"If this had happened off Singapore, there would have been an SOS helicopter on the scene within minutes," one of the four said .Unquote
Singapore/Phuket - 1?? hrs. flight, but worlds apart. Remember that everybody, Thailand is still a Third World backyard in too many ways.

Posted by BOM on April 6, 2010 15:30

So what has happened to the emergency helicopter service that Bangkok Hospital Phuket started at least two years ago?

As a police volunteer in Phuket, I clearly remember attending the launch 'party' for this service.

Posted by Simon Luttrell on April 6, 2010 22:08

The jetskis pollute, are noisy and dangerous in the hands of inexperienced operators. a responsible tourist does not encourage the use of jet skis.

From my balcony, I watch the yahoos speeding about and wonder how more of them are not injured. These people could have asked all of their questions first.

Posted by brendan on April 7, 2010 10:11

The boy who is injured is 20 going on 21 years old, not 25 years old. He is my cousin. He is now in SGH Singapore hospital in ICU. The doctor pronounce 2/3 of his brain as dead, 1/3 of his brain is swelling rapidly. Doctor's advice is to pull the life support. We are all praying for God's intervention and a miracle.

Posted by Relative on April 7, 2010 16:45

let's pray for a miracle to happen to Ying Jie.
Hope Thai police can do a thorough investigation of how exactly this accident happened so that others will learn a lesson from here.

Posted by SOS on April 7, 2010 23:38

"....there was now one standard number for all emergency calls on Phuket. The number is 1669"

Really? What about 191? (police) 1155? (tourist police) 1719 (number on Bangkok-Phuket Hospital ambulances? 1193 (Highway Police).

When I called 1669 recently after a Thai man got mowed down by a pick up truck, they didn't speak English and when I started speaking Thai, they hung up on me!!

Posted by Anonymous on April 8, 2010 02:55

The last time I called the Tourist police number - they didn't speak English and told me to call Thai police. I have never heard of 1669 - what is it?

I will pray for that young man as miracles happen every day - life is precious and we need to protect it.

Posted by Tiffany on April 8, 2010 14:01

Corruption again! Jetskis were BANNED from Patong beach years ago, but the operators no doubt greased the wheels and got their criminally unsafe business running again. My sympathies to the injured, but haven't there been enough warnings about cowboy (basically all) operators in Thailand. The same goes for motorbike and jeep rental - no insurance equals no responsibility!

Posted by Steve on April 11, 2010 18:38

Although a very unfortunate incident, accidents happen everywhere and every day. You can't stop them and you can't regulate everything. If you want to ban jetskis, why stop there? Let us ban swimming pools, water skiing, and snowskiing, too.

Yes, lifeguards and training are very important, however you're NOT in Singapore!

Editor: Forgive me for editorialising, Ben. Accidents happen but does this mean we shouldn't try to prevent them? The points these young men were keen to make were: (a) they were not adequately informed about the potential dangers of jet-skis (b) the jet-ski operators and others involved were not prepared to react with speed and efficiency in an emergency and (c) there is no insurance for jet-ski riders. A young man's life has been ruined. To ignore these issues in the aftermath of this needless calamity would be irresponsible on the part of us all. It isn't a matter for a shoulder-shrug, and a do-nothing attitude. Let's make Phuket's beaches safe places for fun.

Posted by Ben Dover on April 12, 2010 01:55

An interesting fact is that Jet skis are actually illegal to operate on any beach in the whole kingdom of Thailand. This is the basic law governing all beaches...

That they still exist is because of insane levels of corruption, local "big men" and because Thailand is just an all-around undeveloped country. Fact.

Posted by christos on April 12, 2010 09:31

It is easy to point fingers in the aftermath. Perhaps the boys need to take responsibility for fact finding themselves before they got on the skis. No one twisted their arms to go on the water, they are adults and made that decision.

Don't go out, or maybe stay home instead of pointing fingers! You are in a different country, and things aren't the same as at home! Don't expect them to be.

Posted by Pat on April 16, 2010 09:35

Dear Editor, you make some good points, but I would like to add some.

"(a) they were not adequately informed about the potential dangers of jet-skis"

They claim they weren't. Did they ask, did they tell, its their first time? I mean if you watch some guys like these renting and riding the jetskis, most do not care for a thorough assessment of the dangers. They just want to jump the waves. But to address this problem - as I wrote someplace else - let them sign a two page sheet with graphic dos and don'ts, how to behave and where dangers are, like the one you have as a picture chosen.

"(b) the jet-ski operators and others involved were not prepared to react with speed and efficiency in an emergency"

That is worth a public campaign "Don't look, act!" for the whole island, not limited to jetkski rentals. Give easy memorable information, what to do and where to get help fast. Businesses should be required to immediately produce an emergency plan if asked, with details how to proceed in cases of different accidents/emergencies, as they can or typically occur in these places, and share this plans on-line to make them better. Thinking about elephant trekking, jet-ski, bungee, go cart, even bars and hotels...

And as we can read, the system in place is faulty. So the governor / his office or maybe journalists should test it from time to time. Give them "feedback" how to improve. :)

"(c) there is no insurance for jet-ski riders. A young man's life has been ruined."

There is no insurance for jet-ski riders, even most private liability insurances do NOT cover jet-ski accidents and the damaged opponents, other jet-ski driver- or swimmers. If you crash someone, your pension may be gone. No risk... There are special water sports insurances available, costs are about 4-5000 Baht/year and rider.

If I think about it now, letting jet-skis run at beaches with a lot of swimmers, that is a freak thing waiting to happen.

Posted by Lena on April 16, 2010 16:18