Norwegian girl dies after hitting rotor blades

A 22-year-old Norwegian scuba diver was killed after floating to the water surface and was hit on the head by the rotor blades of a passing speedboat.

The incident happened Monday afternoon near Koh Tao in Surat Thani.

She was identified as Silji Macdison.

She received serious cuts on the head and legs when she was rescued from the sea.

But she died shortly afterwards before being sent to hospital in Samui.

Meanwhile 13 German tourists and Thai guides were rescued on Sunday morning when the small cruise boat they were on hit a rock and became stuck fast on it.

The incident took place near Leam Ka Yai Beach in Rawai.

Rawai deputy mayor Theerepong Taodang said that he was told by people from the Sea Gypsy village in Rawai that the two-deck boat, Electric Blue, had collided with the rock, cracking the hull.

The boat was heeling over to one side, he said, and those aboard were afraid it was going to sink.

Three long-tail boats and Rawai municipal rescuers in a dinghy were able to bring all the tourists safely to shore but the boat remained jammed on the rock.

Boonpeng Hanfalien, 42, a Thai passenger, said she had chartered Electric Blue on December 19 from Chalong pier to take her and 11 German friends to look at coral and to fish at Koh Hey, Koh Racha and Koh Phi Phi for three days and two nights.

But the incident happened Sunday about one kilometre from Rawai pier in the early hours after the boat had left Phi Phi and was heading toward Chalong pier.

The captain steered the boat close to shore and it hit the rock, which damaged the bottom of the boat, she added.

Norwegian girl dies after hitting rotor blades on return to water surface after scuba diving - Thai PBS English News

Rotor blades on an helicopter. Propeller blades on a boat. Or am I wrong?

She is still dead RIP.

All the surf rescue boats in aussie have guards round the propellor.

Why don't they put the same on the tourist boats in Thailand?

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https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2014/12/755.jpg

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Why don't they put the same on the tourist boats in Thailand?

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that would involve common sense, forward thinking and extra expense that would cut into profits.

Terrible, since it need not have happened with proper safety procedures...

RIP...

The incidental nature of this report concerning the Norwegian woman provides a good insight into just how truly indifferent the Thai are to deaths of farang tourists. We are indeed nothing more than a commodity to be ' lured ' to this over marketed shit hole with its ghastly heathen people incapable of responsible behaviour.

RIP - countless deaths each year in Thailand as a direct result of lack of "common sense, forward thinking and (unwillingness to accept) extra expense that would cut into profits."

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just how truly indifferent the Thai are to deaths of farang tourists.

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i dont think tourists are singled out for any special dispensations of indifference, the thai are indifferent to death full stop, their lack of awareness and interest in safety at any level is staggering, witness the carnage on the roads every day and the feeble attempts to do anything about it.

Even with a propellor guard it is likely any swimmer being struck by speedboat will suffer serious injury.

The simple solution, and therefore not one to appeal to the Thai who are of course the stupidest people in creation, would be to enforce a safety regime with well delineated routes and diving grounds. But even then, it is a Thai who will be at the helm of the boat and therefore no safety regime can function properly. A troop of Bonobo apes would pose no greater threat than the Thai boat jockeys.

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Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Even with a propellor guard it is likely any swimmer being struck by speedboat will suffer serious injury.

The simple solution, and therefore not one to appeal to the Thai who are of course the stupidest people in creation, would be to enforce a safety regime with well delineated routes and diving grounds. But even then, it is a Thai who will be at the helm of the boat and therefore no safety regime can function properly. A troop of Bonobo apes would pose no greater threat than the Thai boat jockeys.

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Can't do that. That would require a modicum of interest in the safety of anything or anyone which of course they do not posses.

be interesting to know if she had a diving flag up. or if she did was it completely ignored......oh never mind just answered my own question

Don't quite understand how one could surface under a rotating propeller blade unless it was an Emergency assent and one was not looking.

I've made thousands of dives and noise of a running boat motor travel's a long way under water, Every diver will tell you that.

Tosser should not of been in the dive area but this is standard practice in Thailand unfortunately.

I was diving at Sail rock off Phang-Gan and some maniac Thai was cutting laps through the dive area trolling a large fuk off lure. :confused:

Welcome to Thailand, Traveler beware.

Agree with Terry. A novice diver would however be easily disorientated, but a comepetent dive instructor should have prevented this if she was hit before surfacing

Either
- she ascended accidently. In which case the dive instructor ought to have been prepared and pull her down.

- she was separated from the instructor. No excuse in clear water

- she ascended together with the instructor. In which case he/she should have launched an SMB and had listened out for nearby boats.

Unless, of course, she was hit after surfacing. In which case there should still be an SMB but even that is no help with a brain dead monkey at the helm who doesn't look where he is going.

Tragic way to go for sure , but we don't know the details ,, mabe a panic accent for some reason ? dunno , I know jack shit about the subject never done it , I don't think they make dive suits in my size anyway

Hundreds of people struck by boat props every year in the good ole USA.
Very common event worldwide.
But what the heck , happens here once in a blue moon as there's so many monkeys.


Propeller Accident Statistics :: Propeller Guard Information Center

My criticism was made in reference to a comparison with a developed country. This clearly excludes the US. But, in any event, your analysis is somewhat flawed in that you appear to have taken no account of the degree of aquatic recreation which far exceeds that of Thailand which probably kills more per capita, so to speak, than any other, developed, country.

Shoot the messenger ^^

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Originally Posted by Lostandfound

Agree with Terry. A novice diver would however be easily disorientated, but a comepetent dive instructor should have prevented this if she was hit before surfacing

Either
- she ascended accidently. In which case the dive instructor ought to have been prepared and pull her down.

- she was separated from the instructor. No excuse in clear water

- she ascended together with the instructor. In which case he/she should have launched an SMB and had listened out for nearby boats.

Unless, of course, she was hit after surfacing. In which case there should still be an SMB but even that is no help with a brain dead monkey at the helm who doesn't look where he is going.

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Where did you get that she was diving with an instructor (or that she was a "novice")? We can argue the merits of it, but pass open water and you may well find yourself matched with a similarly ignorant buddy with no one more experienced in sight.

As you probably well know, it is more likely 1 DM and a bunch of divers in "buddy pairs" (for what they are worth) and "see you back on the boat".

What percentage of tourist divers actually dive with a bat? Bet it is a bloody small percentage.

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Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

The simple solution, and therefore not one to appeal to the Thai who are of course the stupidest people in creation, would be to enforce a safety regime with well delineated routes and diving grounds.

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The simple solution would be to remind scuba divers that there are boats around and to look up before and during accent. As they would if they were crossing the road. Look, listen, think.

Anything to do with diving areas, flags and area avoidance or reduced speed only works if the topside people actually care about people below them. So it won't work here!

Sad tale though.

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Originally Posted by terry57

an Emergency assent

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I got an emergency assent from my wife when I came home late and tipsy the other night. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Rotor blades on an helicopter. Propeller blades on a boat. Or am I wrong?

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The Thai army is testing a new top secret dual-purpose device. The idea is that since so many of their helicopters can't stay in the air they can double up as their own sea rescue craft.

This story shows that first testing phase may have revealed a minor flaw in the concept..

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Originally Posted by Latindancer

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Originally Posted by terry57

an Emergency assent

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I got an emergency assent from my wife when I came home late and tipsy the other night. :rolleyes:

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I've let this go but, frankly, it's become so unbearable I just can't any longer.

It's ASCENT, not ACCENT, not ASSENT, but ASCENT.

I hope you only quoted me incidentally. My play on words was that that when I came home late and tipsy, I was horny.....so I got her emergency assent (acquiescence, consent) for a bit of rumpy-pumpy. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

I've let this go but, frankly, it's become so unbearable I just can't any longer.

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Have a sausage and chill out, thegent...Put it in your bum if you must...