Chinese Tourist Falls to Death From Zip Line in Chiang Mai

[samsara]

Riiiight..... I forgot about that... while I was paragliding, sitting idly in my harness holding on to a rope.... actually two ropes. I wonder if that makes a difference.

Or maybe it was when I was drift-diving a coral reef in Palau, sitting idly in my BCD harness not even holding on to a rope?

Or... maybe you might wish to reconsider your definition.

No, not at all. I don't agree that it's marketing. I find zip-lining to be a wonderful adventure activity. Especially when I set up my own zip-line across between two peaks as was its origins. Absolutely hair-raising, which is one reason why, personally, I don't wish to spend 2,000 baht to zip-line several meters off the ground in Chiang Mai. The other is that I don't trust the equipment used by tourist venues. If I don't know how many 'falls' a safety line has already taken, I'm certainly not going to trust my life to it. I think anyone who does is foolish. Frankly, I'm amazed at the blatant foolishness of the tourists who put their lives in the hands of untrained individuals with unknown equipment. But that's their choice. This is Thailand. We all know the reality that entails. Sad, but true.

youre actually comparing paragliding and diving of any sort to ziplining?

so adventure = hair-raising...ok...time to go watch a scary movie 'adventure'.

As the Internet so readily shows, there are thousands of people who DO consider zip-lining an adventure activity. And while there are a handful of ThaiVisa posters who don't, I'm going with the majority here. I'm going to call zip-lining an adventure activity.

Personally, I don't find movies particularly scary, but if that's how you like to get your adventure, please go right ahead. To each his own, I guess.

and, personally, i dont find ziplining to be of any particular value in terms of 'adventure'.

the internet also says every single woman makes $5,865/month by sitting at home, yada yada. its marketing tactics, dude. next youre gonna tell me that they dont tranquilize the tigers and that the speed train is really coming to chiang mai before 2020

but at least youve now realized ziplining is not a sport, but rather an activity...akin to going to a petting zoo...or sitting in one of the duck boats at huay tong tao.

[frank0424]

I don't understand why anyone would participate in an activity that is life threatening.

[FolkGuitar]

I don't understand why anyone would participate in an activity that is life threatening.

The fact that they are life threatening is ancillary to those sports, not the reason for participating in them. I doubt anyone can give you an answer that would truly satisfy your question.

[Stargeezr]

I have not done any zip lines in Thailand, Honduras, or Belize, and other countries, simply because I have

never felt brave enough to risk my life in these countries. I have done jungle hikes, and hiked the ruins in Guatemala,

at the Tikal ruins, and places in Honduras, and Belize, and enjoyed many beaches, but I think I am still alive

because I had a bit of caution in what I did and where. I read a while back ,where a Phuket zip line had a problem as well,

not sure if that company is still in business. I think that renting a motorbike in Thailand is enough of a thrill for me

and that is all I will risk when I holiday there during the Winter.

[PattayaClub]

These tours are not safe, an ATV trip in CM could have easily have ended up in death if you saw the route the crazy idiots took us down !!

I'd feel ripped off if I didn't get an exciting and somewhat dangerous route. That's what ATV's are made for.

"Everything in life is sweetened by risk." If you are risk averse, you should stay inside your house.

And, yeah, I've done the ziplines. A great rush. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy a little excitement. SCUBA diving and skydiving isn't for everybody either, and, yes, you could die.

[cookee68]

RIP very sad.

But to withhold such news so it didn't upset the generals visit with " negative news" is almost criminal as people should have been made aware of the potential problem.

I am surprised that they did not blame the Chinese man for damaging the lock

[MobileContent]

My condolences to the family of the fallen man. Things like this are always a tragedy. However...

Ships are safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for. There is an element of danger in most adventure activities. We can strive to minimize the risk but we can never eliminate it completely, no matter how much some might want to. This isn't a Nanny State. If you want that sort of mommy/daddy protection, having your hand held while you walk down a paved road, you can find it back home. The various zip-line companies have been in business for quite a few years, with a safety record that, for Thailand, is pretty damn good. Folks can say 'I just knew something like this was going to happen...: Well yeah! Wait 5-7 years and it probably will. Wait, and someone will probably get hit in the head with a golf ball or drop a free weight on their chest. Just give it enough time.... Skiers now wear helmets on the slops in most major ski areas, and all have ski patrol personnel monitoring, watching for potential problems, yet every year in several ski areas, someone skis out of control, slams into a tree and dies.

Adventure sports are for people who live in the fast lane. Most of us don't play golf. We tend to live on the edge. And while we all say we want safety, what we really want is an element of danger. And sometimes we fall off that edge. “Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse!”

There is no way that Zip Lining falls under the classification of an adventure sport and having an expectation of proper safety procedures and equipment is hardly an indication that you require mommy/daddy protection in a Nanny State. Your analogies are ridiculous.

Actually in fact it is categories as Soft Adventure and most Travel Insurance don't cover it. When we bring clients to a Zilpine they already signed a waiver if anything happens we are not responsible.

[FangFerang]

"A police officer privately told Khaosod that the news was withheld from the media until today because junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was visiting Chiang Mai at the time, and local authorities did not want any "negative news" to surface during his trip."

The local authorities were just following orders, seig heil!

[masuk]

The article says this happened on 29 June. Trip advisor has a review from the day before of a man falling at the same place!

Reviewed June 28, 2015NEW

Today we had a major wake-up call. We went ziplining at Zipline Skyline Adventure in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it was going great until a man dropped 30 meters from the abseil platform above us. We were lucky because he missed us by just a few inches (about 6 inches.) He was severely injured and blood was gushing from his head heavily. The guides didn't seem prepared to handle this accident and he was lucky there was a nurse in our group. After 30 minutes they were finally able to take him to the hospital, but had to continue to zipline him out since we were deep in the jungle. We are unsure of his condition now but we hope and pray that he is fine. This goes to show that you must always do your research when booking an activity and be aware of your safety. I don't know what caused the accident but I do know that his carabiner was not attached to a safety cable. If you're planning on participating in ziplining, PLEASE BE SAFE. This was definitely was definitely a traumatic and unpleasant experience.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293917-d6199566-r283630324-Zipline_Skyline_Adventure-Chiang_Mai.html#

I hope your evidence that a carabiner was NOT attached to the zip line is taken into consideration by the Coroner's Court.

This was clearly a total neglect of existing safety standards. Nothing to do with 'nanny state' and other typical negative comments.

[Cardiff1963]

Obviously the usual whingers will delight in highlighting the obvious lax safety standards. But if you're a Brit,remember Alton Towers and if you're from the States you have the right to bear bazookas

[bamukloy]

was to be expected,...sooner or later....Thai safety standards....????

Sad indeed, and yes not unexpected, and somebody should be punished including the officials that should regularly inspect these things. This brings the obvious questions: Are these attractions and their equipment regularly inspected? And is it a surprise inspection? Are there any inspection certificates, with dates, on display?

Further, one wonders whether the officials who should inspect these set ups are actually qualified in the appropriate areas of engineering to assess if it's all strong enough to withstand certain loads, sudden heavy loads and pressures and twists, and is it all locked properly to bases, etc etc. And, Is there any training for the staff on how to ensure the customer if properly inside the harness etc? And is there a designated senior employee who is responsible to regularly (at least daily) inspect the actual harness for wear etc., and is this inspection recorded?

Why even ask as you know the answers.

if anyone did inspect these things youd certainly know the result:

-Hello i cone to check equipment. Eveything ok.

-yes all good.everything thai number 1 in world, ching ching crap.

-ok you pay nid noi licence me 200baht

-ok crap

-bye bye

[manxcay]

If youre going there then don't do anything with increased risk, its a dangerous enough country as it is.

[Johpa]

Shut down every zip line and bungee jump in the country, effective immediately. This is the second death in recent days. When man children are responsibility for safety, and are hellbent on saving money on safety equipment, and do not know how to install or use the equipment properly, it is a recipe for disaster. Since there is no public safety agency, that is involved in these kinds of hazardous activities, they should not be allowed to operate. Children doing the work of adults.

Pardon me, but I am quite close to one zip line company in Chiang Mai and the people working there are very safety conscious and take the safety of their guests very seriously. One of the managers, a Thai, has been running zip line companies in Chiang Mai for well over a decade without incident. It is your knee jerk response to a single incident that is childlike.

[spidermike007]

Shut down every zip line and bungee jump in the country, effective immediately. This is the second death in recent days. When man children are responsibility for safety, and are hellbent on saving money on safety equipment, and do not know how to install or use the equipment properly, it is a recipe for disaster. Since there is no public safety agency, that is involved in these kinds of hazardous activities, they should not be allowed to operate. Children doing the work of adults.

Pardon me, but I am quite close to one zip line company in Chiang Mai and the people working there are very safety conscious and take the safety of their guests very seriously. One of the managers, a Thai, has been running zip line companies in Chiang Mai for well over a decade without incident. It is your knee jerk response to a single incident that is childlike.

Until Thailand gets it together to start caring about public safety, these kinds of businesses cannot be allowed to operate. Too risky. Good on your friend for being careful and responsible. He is the exception.

[Tywais]

‘It was Tourist’s Fault’ – Zip line Company said Following Death

CityNews – Following the tragic death of a Chinese tourist, 44 year old Suxongtao, recently, the owner of Skyline Adventure, in Doi Saket District of Chiang Mai, Srimeun Chaimaha, has announced that the death was not due to any negligence or lack of safety of his company’s equipment. A thorough inspection of all 53 zip lines and their bases have been conducted to his satisfaction. The Department of Public Works had also approved of the safety standards leading up to the accident.

More here - Chiang Mai CityNews

[MaeJoMTB]

from Tywais link

'He removed his own safety' .......... clearly another foreigner suicide!

[FolkGuitar]

from Tywais link

'He removed his own safety' .......... clearly another foreigner suicide!

Or another mistake.

I've seen experienced rock climbers unhook their belay line before being given the 'Belay Off' response.

The 'belay line' is a rock climber's safety rope. There are verbal signals and responses that are used to signify whether it is safe for a climber to remove his safety line. It goes like this: the climber reaches the end of his climb and shouts to his Belay Man [the person holding the other end of the safety rope,] "Off Belay," signifying that he is done and in a safe location. BUT HE DOES NOT REMOVE HIS BELAY LINE FROM HIS HARNESS. The the Belay May shouts back "Belay Off." At THAT point the climber should remove his safety line. That's the way it SHOULD be done. But I've seen dozens of times where climbers unfasten their belay line BEFORE getting the Belay Off signal. Generally, it is not a problem as the climber 'should' be in safe position.... generally.... But it's a violation of standard climbing safety procedure.

In fact, it happen more often to experienced climbers than newbies. But it DOES happen to newbies too. This situation could just as easily be the tourist's mistake as the company's. Without more information there just isn't any way to know, one way or the other.

[Johpa]

Shut down every zip line and bungee jump in the country, effective immediately. This is the second death in recent days. When man children are responsibility for safety, and are hellbent on saving money on safety equipment, and do not know how to install or use the equipment properly, it is a recipe for disaster. Since there is no public safety agency, that is involved in these kinds of hazardous activities, they should not be allowed to operate. Children doing the work of adults.

Pardon me, but I am quite close to one zip line company in Chiang Mai and the people working there are very safety conscious and take the safety of their guests very seriously. One of the managers, a Thai, has been running zip line companies in Chiang Mai for well over a decade without incident. It is your knee jerk response to a single incident that is childlike.

Until Thailand gets it together to start caring about public safety, these kinds of businesses cannot be allowed to operate. Too risky. Good on your friend for being careful and responsible. He is the exception.

The logical conclusion to your argument is that everyone should leave Thailand, a third world nation riddled by corruption and crime, and that does not have the safety standards of say the US, the UK, or Oz. It is far too risky to live here for some. Your mileage may vary. There will be no Thai government public safety watchdog, nor environmental protection watchdog for generations to come. Heck, even in the US there are those who would dismantle such organizations that do exist, and they only exist due to the efforts of one man, Ralph Nader, who has been demonized as a consolation prize to his haters in the corporatocracy.

And one more thing, my friend is not that exceptional. I have friends in both the bungee jumping business and the elephant camp business who are equally responsible regarding their customer's safety. But you can lower your risk by avoiding tourist sites that are located out of their natural element such as elephant camps on southern islands or zip lines on high rent ground such as the Chiang Mai zoo.

[luckizuchinni]

from Tywais link

'He removed his own safety' .......... clearly another foreigner suicide!

Or another mistake.

I've seen experienced rock climbers unhook their belay line before being given the 'Belay Off' response.

The 'belay line' is a rock climber's safety rope. There are verbal signals and responses that are used to signify whether it is safe for a climber to remove his safety line. It goes like this: the climber reaches the end of his climb and shouts to his Belay Man [the person holding the other end of the safety rope,] "Off Belay," signifying that he is done and in a safe location. BUT HE DOES NOT REMOVE HIS BELAY LINE FROM HIS HARNESS. The the Belay May shouts back "Belay Off." At THAT point the climber should remove his safety line. That's the way it SHOULD be done. But I've seen dozens of times where climbers unfasten their belay line BEFORE getting the Belay Off signal. Generally, it is not a problem as the climber 'should' be in safe position.... generally.... But it's a violation of standard climbing safety procedure.

In fact, it happen more often to experienced climbers than newbies. But it DOES happen to newbies too. This situation could just as easily be the tourist's mistake as the company's. Without more information there just isn't any way to know, one way or the other.

I am not sure how someone could remove much of anything on a zip line. The person's body weight alone would keep even a suicidal person from doing much unless he or she did it before stepping off, and if that happened, the staff should have spotted it.

However, with rappelling, I saw an "expert" fall to his death. It was at Great Falls, north of DC. He anchored his rope and attached it to his carabiner. Then evidently in an attempt to impress/scare his date, he jumped off the cliff as he tossed over the rope. Unfortunately, he attached his carabiner to the running end instead of the anchored end, and he fell straight down to the rocks on the bottom.

Actually, I didn't realize what had happened until people started screaming. But an investigation showed that even at the bottom, he was looped into his carabiner, but only meters up from the running end.

[FolkGuitar]

from Tywais link

'He removed his own safety' .......... clearly another foreigner suicide!

Or another mistake.

I've seen experienced rock climbers unhook their belay line before being given the 'Belay Off' response.

The 'belay line' is a rock climber's safety rope. There are verbal signals and responses that are used to signify whether it is safe for a climber to remove his safety line. It goes like this: the climber reaches the end of his climb and shouts to his Belay Man [the person holding the other end of the safety rope,] "Off Belay," signifying that he is done and in a safe location. BUT HE DOES NOT REMOVE HIS BELAY LINE FROM HIS HARNESS. The the Belay May shouts back "Belay Off." At THAT point the climber should remove his safety line. That's the way it SHOULD be done. But I've seen dozens of times where climbers unfasten their belay line BEFORE getting the Belay Off signal. Generally, it is not a problem as the climber 'should' be in safe position.... generally.... But it's a violation of standard climbing safety procedure.

In fact, it happen more often to experienced climbers than newbies. But it DOES happen to newbies too. This situation could just as easily be the tourist's mistake as the company's. Without more information there just isn't any way to know, one way or the other.

I am not sure how someone could remove much of anything on a zip line. The person's body weight alone would keep even a suicidal person from doing much unless he or she did it before stepping off, and if that happened, the staff should have spotted it.

There should be no weight load on a safety line unless the person has already fallen. It should be slack, with less than a meter of free play.

I think we really don't know if the tourist was on the line when he fell or if he was on the platform. All we know is that his safety equipment wasn't secured when he fell.

Unless there was a carabiner 'failure' (i.e. breaking) involved, he probably wasn't on the zipline. If he was already connected to the pulley assembly, and sitting in the harness, then his main caribiner had to be connected. If the biner broke, why hasn't anyone mentioned broken bits? If the biner's gate wasn't locked, the tourist's weight alone should have pulled the hook in the gate into the body of the carabiner, even without a screwgate, securing it against anything other than sideways pressure. In a zipline activity, it's normal to have one or more carabiners connecting the harness to the running assembly, and a secondary caribiner connected to the harness (It's actually safer to connect the belay line directly to the harness using proper knots, rather than to a carabiner,) and a Belay Man on the other end of a safety line. From what we've read, THAT was the biner that wasn't attached. I'm guessing that he was on the platform and not actually on the zipline when he fell. It doesn't make sense any other way.

[spidermike007]

from Tywais link

'He removed his own safety' .......... clearly another foreigner suicide!

Or another mistake.

I've seen experienced rock climbers unhook their belay line before being given the 'Belay Off' response.

The 'belay line' is a rock climber's safety rope. There are verbal signals and responses that are used to signify whether it is safe for a climber to remove his safety line. It goes like this: the climber reaches the end of his climb and shouts to his Belay Man [the person holding the other end of the safety rope,] "Off Belay," signifying that he is done and in a safe location. BUT HE DOES NOT REMOVE HIS BELAY LINE FROM HIS HARNESS. The the Belay May shouts back "Belay Off." At THAT point the climber should remove his safety line. That's the way it SHOULD be done. But I've seen dozens of times where climbers unfasten their belay line BEFORE getting the Belay Off signal. Generally, it is not a problem as the climber 'should' be in safe position.... generally.... But it's a violation of standard climbing safety procedure.

In fact, it happen more often to experienced climbers than newbies. But it DOES happen to newbies too. This situation could just as easily be the tourist's mistake as the company's. Without more information there just isn't any way to know, one way or the other.

I am not sure how someone could remove much of anything on a zip line. The person's body weight alone would keep even a suicidal person from doing much unless he or she did it before stepping off, and if that happened, the staff should have spotted it.

However, with rappelling, I saw an "expert" fall to his death. It was at Great Falls, north of DC. He anchored his rope and attached it to his carabiner. Then evidently in an attempt to impress/scare his date, he jumped off the cliff as he tossed over the rope. Unfortunately, he attached his carabiner to the running end instead of the anchored end, and he fell straight down to the rocks on the bottom.

Actually, I didn't realize what had happened until people started screaming. But an investigation showed that even at the bottom, he was looped into his carabiner, but only meters up from the running end.

Great way to impress a date. I will bet she will never forget him. Clever guy.

[Jumper]

What's the problem with the river rafting? Doesn't seem like the rapids around here offer much risk, but could be. And of course must have helmet, PFD well fitted and best if can swim. If rapids easy, the guides may be numbskulls without much experience.

I did the rafting thing in about Aug 2010. The river was a raging torrent during some big rains and they said they had to take a look and consider if to go or not....we did.

They described one rapid as level 6 which pretty much means your boat will tip every time.

Half did the others got through fine.

They had guys with ropes to pluck people out of the water ready and one raft at a time..

Two came close to drowning,one a young fit South American swallowed a heap of water but came good. He was trapped under the up turned boat but nobody knew where he was.

Another women was too distraught to carry on.

It was a full on trip on the Mae Taeng which most of the year very little water in it..

I've done my fair share of white water rafting in Colorado.

There's no way the guides there would take any customers through a class 6 rapid. Even for a class 5, they would only take experienced, strong and fit rafters. In rapids like that you not only need good guides, but you need people in the boat paddling that can respond instantly and strongly to various commands from the guide; no hesitation thinking about what you're supposed to do on a given command.

Having been through class 5 rapids myself many times, I'll tell you that it's more fun than the average tourist wants to have. I've seen tourists come out of the boat in class 4 rapids. Coming out of the boat in a serious rapid can be very dangerous. Not only are there the obvious risks from rocks, but if you get caught in the downstream backwash (hydraulic) of a big rock, it can be virtually impossible to get out of. Another thing is that, because of the air entrained, white water is much less buoyant than ordinary water, and much harder to stay afloat in.

Rafts in these rapids can dump passengers in many ways; none of them good.

Taking tourists down a class 6 rapid is insane.

[woozlewuzzle]

I will not name the companies I recced asides from saying they were the MOST popular ones ( i'm sure you can figure out which ones they are) - but I can tell you Chaing Mai X centre was not one of them - not saying they are not popular - they were just not in my requested listings.

[Jimlove]

Wonder how the next tourists are gonna get killed in Thailand ... Must be a matter of few hours if the frequency is to be like the last years and we all know that nothing will be done to stop these killings ...

[hitext]

Dubious safety standards in Thailand? Gee, I guess that has never happened before...