Memorial for drowned DJ June 16 2009
From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok,
Link to Surrey Advertiser
Friends and relatives are to host a memorial party to a 21-yr-old DJ from Surrey, who, they say, needlessly drowned in Thailand after authorities in the holiday island of Phuket cut down on beach safety procedures.
Last week James Patton, 21, from Beacon Hill, Hindhead, was the third tourist to drown in two days on Karon Beach on the Thai holiday island. It was the last day of his holiday.
Like the other tourists he was dragged out to sea by the undertow. Several hundred tourists watched the spectacle. His girlfriend Bethan Jones, also 21, was saved by British tourists.
One of the witnesses, Briton Sian Mulley said: “The police did nothing, and the life guards wouldn’t even go in, they tossed a board at my brother to use instead. My brother is in bits that he couldn’t do more and he is so angry that the lifeguards and authorities were useless.”
Patton’s family have set up a Facebook site to warn tourists of the dangers of swimming in Phuket during the rainy season.
Last week local authorities admitted that they had not as usual employed teams to warn tourists not to enter the water due to shortage of funds and volunteers.
Although the sun may shine and the sea look calm rip tides in Phuket during the rainy season are notoriously ferocious.
The memorial party will be held at the Woodcock Pub, Churt Road, Beacon Hill on July 3rd.
Link http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=205123015113&ref=share
It’s a shame that this young man died. If any good can come of it, may it be to drive home one simple mantra to the holiday-making public:
The Thai Authorities are Useless.
Oh dear, farang finally understand that their lives hang by a thread and not everyone in the world is dedicated to their longevity.
If you are going to swim in unfamiliar waters then learn the fundamental rule: if it pulls you out, go with the flow until the current ceases.
But then, most Brits actually think someone else will be responsible for their lives and they don’t have to think for themselves.
Of course, nobody drowns in the UK.
Westerby. Actually although this made the news abroad, drownings of tourists on Phuket are becoming more and more frequent it seems, unless they have been covered up for years. The British are in the minority. The beaches look tempting even in the monsoon season. This happened to me once on Ko Phangnan. There were not flags that I noticed, but as everyone was in the water I may have ignored them anyway.
When you visit a tourist resort with flagged beaches you expect
it to be safe unless flags to the contrary are raised.
It’s as simple as that.
Thai authorities are to blame and the argument that flags weren’t
raised due to lack of funds is just laughable.
But then again.. since when do Thai authoritize assume responsibility
for anything?
Well I believe there were flags out. But beach activity was normal.
Well i was there on the beach the day james died and tried to rescue him and i tell you now there was no flags out only after he died to cover there arse and i saw them do that,the one life guard there was gave me his board and told me to go in, there was nothing in place at all to rescue people the whole thing from start to finish was a circus they didnt have a clue what to do.
And untill you experience the water the way it was that day it went from being bad to really bad in a matter of secounds i was not told or warned by anyone and speaking to people that day neither were they this has to be sorted and measures need to be put in place so this doesn’t keep happening they quite happly take the tourists money so they should spend some on making the beeches safe and if they were then, james would still be alive today and his family ,friends, and girlfriend also unborn child would not be suffering this was a needless and pointless death.
I’ve never been in a rip tide actually. How violently, how far, does it pull you out in most cases? How is it people drown, they can’t swim well or the water is so rough it overwhelms them? Most people can easily swim a mile, even in the ocean.
Flags should be out, but i suppose it’s not always visible when the ocean will have rip tides. Swimming in the ocean is dangerous, so it would help if on the beach there are lifeguards - ones willing to help. If so many people die in PHuket surely they might think having certain procedures for rescuing people. In most cases in Thailand the reason is lack of funds, or some kind of corruption that disables ‘the right way to do things’. The Thai authorities are never accountable, this is laughable, criminal, if you ever get involved with cases.
p.s Shutup westerby… God, how inconsiderate of you, a young man has died, and if the beach would of had the appropriate measures in place then this needless tragic death could of been prevented…
So get of your high horse and think about the family who have just lost there son, brother, boyfriend and most of all dad to be…
You obviously have sum issues with us british, you strange person, if all us brits were like that then why did my brother risk is live to save a woman and try to save james….