Thread: Husand drowns and wife mugged in Laos while on honeymoon

Husband drowns on honeymoon river adventure in Laos

• Wife finds body after three days of searching
• Floating inner tubes swept away by swollen waters



A honeymoon ended in tragedy today when a woman found her new husband's body in a Laos river, three days after he went missing.
Michael O'Sullivan, 39, died while backpacking around Asia with his wife, Ilana James. The couple had saved up for their honeymoon since marrying in November last year. Their family said they had always dreamt of travelling the world together.
On Thursday, the pair went on a "tubing" adventure on the Nam Xong river in Vang Viang, northern Laos.
Floating down the river on giant tractor inner tubes is a popular activity in the region, described by the Lonely Planet guide as "one of the rites of passage of the Indochina backpacking circuit".
But the river they were tubing on had swelled dangerously because of the rainy season. All 20 tourists on the trip were separated and locals ran to the river banks with ropes and sticks to help them out. Everyone but O'Sullivan, from Cork, Ireland, was rescued. He had not been wearing a lifejacket.
After being pulled from the river herself, his wife drove up and down the river bank with the tour operator, stopping at bridges in the hope of throwing a rope to rescue her husband, but had to give up when it became too dark. On the way back to her hotel, she was mugged and her passport stolen by a man on a motorbike.
She spent the next three days searching for her husband, hiring boats and scouring the banks.
At 1:30pm local time today, she found his body in the river.
One of his seven siblings, Pennie O'Sullivan, paid tribute to her brother, a bar and restaurant manager who was "adored by everyone".
She said: "At first, we all thought we would find Michael, that he would walk out of the jungle or would be found clinging to a rock. But as each hour passed, our hopes dwindled.
"We are so shocked by his death. Michael was the joker of the family. He was very funny and had so many friends. He was adored by everyone."
The O'Sullivan family are angry that the activity went ahead despite the dangerous conditions. She said: "I want to raise awareness of the grave dangers that are associated to these types of tours on the Nam Xong river. We have heard that many people go missing from this river, we don't know exact details but we want to know why tourists are put in such a dangerous position in the peak of the rainy season with no lifejackets.
"The Nam Xong river is the primary tourist revenue stream for Laos, but at what cost? We hope that our story will help save other people in the future."
The Rough Guide warns readers planning to go tubing on the Nam Xong: "Before you grab your tube and race for the river, take note that a few people have drowned tubing down the river, which is swift in spots; it's quite easy to become temporarily separated from your tube. If you can't swim or are a weak swimmer, wear a lifejacket while tubing – the shops supplying the inner tubes should provide them."
O'Sullivan met his wife, who is from New Zealand, in England about five years ago when they both worked in a bar in Welwyn Garden City. The couple married last year and moved to Ireland. They headed off on their travels in June this year, and had already visited India, Malaysia and Thailand.
O'Sullivan's brother John is travelling to Vang Viang to meet the authorities and bring his brother's body back to Ireland. Today, he criticised insurers who he said had refused to pay out on the $1,000 costs that were incurred during the search for his brother.

The Guardian

Sad story, another case of negligence on behalf of the service operaters maybe.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Sad story, another case of negligence on behalf of the service operaters maybe.

Sad, but I doubt it was negligence, the rivers they tube down are pretty timed even when high. It was his choice not to wear a life jacket and these activities always carry a certain amount off risk, even if it is very small.

A tragic tale, and with all the rain over the past few weeks why on earth are they going out in the river without a life vest on?

^ I've done that trip 3 different times and never once were life jackets offered. Almost did it this last time around but it's the rainy season and I figured the water would be too high.

what does lonely planet have to say about the dangers of this "rite of passage" ?

^ I doubt it says you can die as the rites are being administered...

White water & tubing are a dangerous combo... Bad enough in a raft or canoe where you have some control...

RIP...

The man was 39 years old, I'm sure he never needed a guide book to tell him if it was going to be safe or not, people have to take responsibility for their own actions.

Originally Posted by goostewart

I wouldn't say they were life threatening though. This story may well have more to it. The river ain't that big, plenty of places to catch a body. I think something more was at play. Dunno what though.

I think your paranoid, the same thing happened in August last year when Donal O Cadhain drowned doing the same thing. Two people died in April when I was there, one drowned and one landed on rocks when he messed up on a rope swing. Our guesthouse owner reckoned about 16 people a year die while tubing there, mostly due to people being too drunk or stoned and trying to show off.

Originally Posted by Muadib

White water

It is not white water, not even close.

Originally Posted by English Noodles

people have to take responsibility for their own actions.

exactly

Originally Posted by English Noodles

mostly due to people being too drunk or stoned and trying to show off.

yep, sad but true.

I've been there during the rainy season and the dry season. In the rains the river is deep and fast. There is one section with a bit of turbulent water and falling off there could easily lead to a head injury and drowning. It takes 1.5 - 2 hours to complete the length during this time.

In the dry the river is very slow and lots of exposed rocks. Takes about 6 - 7 hours to do the length with lots of paddling.

Originally Posted by mobs00

falling off there could easily lead to a head injury

Yeah but so could slipping over on a wet floor.

Ok, it is obviously going to be more dangerous when the water is deeper and faster, but, it is still not really a "dangerous" activity.

If you combine it with a large amount of alcohol, drugs and stupidity then yes, probably quite dangerous.

Here it is in December. Probably the best time to go as it's not too shallow and not too fast.

Done that many times.

Never in fast waters though, I've seen it after a day of hard freak rain in dry season and it rises quickly and increases speed significantly.

Lots of branches and crap in the water to get stuck under