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.
