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The snapped leg bonds at the Patong bungy site on Phuket tonight

Phuket Bungy Tourist Killed in Plunge

Wednesday, May 27, 2015
PHUKET: A tourist was killed when he plunged to his death from a 60 metre bungy jump in the Phuket holiday hub of Patong tonight.

First reports indicate that the bonds attached to the man's legs broke. He hit the ground near a pond, breaking his neck and several ribs.

The man, aged 25 from Kuwait, died in Patong Hospital soon after his leap about 6pm.

Officers from Kathu Police Station, which oversees the popular west coast destination of Patong, kept reporters away from the World Bungy Jump, which is close to the Patong Boxing Stadium in Sainamyen.

Tonight's tragedy - rare for bungy jumps all around the world - is likely to raise the critical issue of who enforces safety standards on Phuket for these kinds of thrills.

Clearly, with the leg bonds breaking free from the bungy rope, standards have not been maintained.

The man, bearded and wearing only shorts, has been named but Phuketwan is waiting to make sure his relatives have been notified before identifying him.

Both the Patong boxing business and the bungy jump are promoted online.

According to the Patong Boxing Stadium site, ''World Bungy jump Patong is located in the heart of Patong beside the Patong Boxing Stadium and Rock'n Bowl.

''The crane tower is 60 meters height. The highest bungy in Southern Thailand, jumping over a natural huge swamp and water-spring, over looking the panoramic view of Patong beach, operating to Australian standards.

''We have been established for ten years, with safety standards our No.1 priority.

''There is also a fish park, cooling drinks. Operating hours are between 9.30 am.- 6.30 pm. everyday.''

An unconfirmed report said that the seriously injured man had been carried to the hospital in a pickup, and that the driver was at first reluctant to reveal the cause of the man's injury.

The tourist's body is at Patong Hospital. International attention will be focused on the nature of the investigation and its outcome.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

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RIP

Young man to die, I hope somebody is held accountable.


Thailand authorities should allow foreign experts as before when they had all a.j Hackett trained personnel. But probably owners cut costs as well

Posted by Michael on May 27, 2015 22:40

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it is not the first accident there .

and for Q-n who will enforce safety standards, A. - nobody, also because such standard don't exist in Kingdom

most operators refer that they adhere to NZ or alike standard or code of good practice

I took as a rule do not take risky sports or entertainment in Thailand, since I simply don't believe what they say
it's OK for me to go with such activities ,say ,in NZ, UAE or Europe

food, massages etc, is OK to have in Thailand, but bungy jumping , parasailing or jetski - thanks, sorry

Posted by Sue on May 27, 2015 22:44

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Poor man - how awful for him and his family.

All the recent tourist surveys put safety as number one concern. As always, no one is listening.

Posted by Discover Thainess on May 27, 2015 23:00

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Last time it was the poor workers - and now a poor tourist.

A farang apparently owns a Bungy jump in Pattaya, and has a clean record, as he claims his operation to be super safe.

That's a very subjective claim indeed..

Posted by farang888 on May 28, 2015 00:13

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this is a shocking avoidable death, condolences to family & friends, Thailand do something please as a international destination you need international standards not the cheapest adhoc setup you can find, to state this is to Australian std is a joke any chance of you admitting Australian engineers to investigate this site id say not.

Posted by slickmelb on May 28, 2015 02:19

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R.I.P for the victim. A lot moral suport to the victims family & friends. But if the following quote; is not coming from a leaflet I would call it Ashaming for and from the person who mentioned it to PW.

''We have been established for ten years, with safety standards our No.1 priority.''

Posted by phuketgreed on May 28, 2015 04:30

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Allah yer7mah

Posted by Ali on May 28, 2015 06:11

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The other bungy over the hill in Kathu advertises that they are insured. Kiwi owned.

Posted by GiantFan on May 28, 2015 06:19

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Preventable incidents like this are frustrating. I am disturbed by the transport of the injured person by a pickup truck and then the reported reluctance to provide the cause of injury. Patong General is not a trauma center. I hate to say it, but I hope this poor chap wasn't conscious as he would have been suffering for quite some time until he died. It's heartbreaking because it was avoidable.

Posted by Ryan on May 28, 2015 06:44

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The man had a broken neck,,,he was transported to hospital in a pickup??? When will they ever learn about first aid, never! RIP.

Posted by coxo on May 28, 2015 06:51

Editor Comment:

An unconfirmed report, coxo.

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Farang888
There is a bungee jump owned by a NZ 15 minutes outside of Jomtien. The reason I trusted it the jump was directly above a large swimming pool. In the case of failure a customer would surely be saved by the water.
This Phuket one should have used a similar safety measure design.

Posted by anonymous on May 28, 2015 09:11

Editor Comment:

There was a pond at this jump. The dead man missed it.

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GiantFan said: "The other bungy over the hill in Kathu advertises that they are insured. Kiwi owned."

Does that mean that when you die your next of kin get THB 50,000?

Posted by Anonymous on May 28, 2015 10:28

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The most important sentence in this article is: "Who enforces safety standards"
Another important questions would be: Who is actually "accountable" for all safety standards on the island and in the country!

Posted by Mr. K on May 28, 2015 11:22

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"We have been established for ten years, with safety standards our No.1 priority. ".. So.. the rope was 10 years then.. guess now they know when to change it.. i still can't figure out why someone would go for a bungyjump in Thailand at the first place, and on the 2nd place after the ride from the hotel to the jump they should be scared enough, either from the ride or the cost of it... RIP All????hu Akbar

Posted by Frog on May 28, 2015 11:36

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Maintenance is a word totally ignored by Thai and is 90% of the reason of many deadly accidents. Follow the advice of the readers is good idea: never try something, even a little beat, dangerous in Thailand.

Posted by dave on May 28, 2015 13:24

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Chalk up another tragedy for a tourist that obviously didn't know anything about Thailand. I would NEVER partake in any high-risk activity here where you are reliant on some degree of safety standard. Thai officials don't give a crap, and nobody is in charge of safety. It is an unknown concept here in the Land of Recklessness.

Posted by Richard Vickers on May 28, 2015 15:25

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Yes Richard - and don't go into the water caves near Krabi - The roof of the cave rubbed my nose and chest - not millimeters - the cave roof touches you, as you lie as flat as you can, head turned to the side.

I heard the screams ahead of me. I give credit to the boat drivers, who did Houdini-type acrobats..

You can only go in there when the tide is exactly "right." Ya Right.

Only in Thailand you say?

Posted by farang888 on May 28, 2015 22:20

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Poor guy. Good rest his soul. My heart goes to all his friends and family

Posted by Haiderson on May 29, 2015 06:58

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Sorry what do you mean by "There was a pond at this jump. The dead man missed it."??

Posted by AbAb on June 1, 2015 10:14

Editor Comment:

As the later article explains, the jump is over a pond but the man actually came free of his ankle strap on the fist bounce-back, so that instead of coming down - possibly safely - in the water, he was flicked out over land and crashed to earth there.


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