Entries Tagged 'Health & safety' ↓

Thailand’s only tsunami early warning device was retrieved on Saturday after being adrift and unable to provide alerts for six weeks.

Indian officials told their Thai counterparts on June 3 that Station 23401 had slipped its moorings and was floating slowly towards Thailand.

After the buoy went missing, Thai and Indian naval vessels searched for it. They found it on June 29, but were unable to retrieve it. Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) monitored the station’s movements until Saturday’s rescue mission.

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Following the success of Phuket’s scheme to encourage motorcyclists to wear crash helmets, the measure may be extended across other southern Thai provinces.

The campaign began with a parade starting at Phuket Police Station on July 1. The parade featured a 2,000 strong motorcade of motorcycles with helmet-clad riders and passengers.

The crackdown was aimed at foreign tourists, expats and locals, and included both the rider of the motorbike and the passenger. Wanchai Ekpornpit, the Phuket City Police Superintendent, said at the time that Phuket had one of the worst road accident records of the 76 Thai provinces.

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Police in Nakorn Sri Tammarat, last Wednesday, arrested a Thai couple after a crime of opportunity left them with a stolen ATM card and the PIN number for it.

On Saturday June 26, Mr Decland Rowland, 41, an Irish national, parked his pick up truck at Phuket’s Karon Beach. He then went for a swim with his Thai girlfriend, but forgot to lock his vehicle.

Mr Pichai Boonrit,26 , and 24-year old Patcharin Rattapansoontra, were passing by and saw the pick up was not locked. They grabbed Mr Rowland’s ATM card, gold rings, 7,000 Baht cash and personal papers.

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Jet-skis may be used by Thai life guards after demonstrations were held this week. A team of Thai and Australian instructors demonstrated that jet-skis can be instrumental in saving lives at Karon Beach, Phuket.

At the demonstration, the team, led by Australian David Field, held a mock surf rescue operation. The event showed that lifeguards on jet-skis can reach swimmers in difficulties, much more quickly than they can on paddle boards.

Mr Field, with the Australian Surf Life Saving Association, told the Phuket Gazette that jet-skis carrying a sled board are a useful tool for rescuing people quickly.

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The tragic death of British national has led to demands for better campaigns to alert visitors to the dangers of swimming in the sea during the rainy season in Thailand.

In spite of warning signs, Rebecca Callaghan, 21,  followed her boyfriend into the sea at Karon Beach, Phuket, on June 12. Her boyfriend was using a hired body board but Rebecca had no flotation aid.

Although the victim did not go into the deep water, she was hit by waves and pulled under by riptides common at this time of year.

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KEY players in Krabi’s hospitality industry want to assure visitors that the Andaman coast is a safe destination in order to kick start the region’s ailing tourism industry

The message conflicts with alerts from the vast majority of national governments who have warned their citizens against travelling to Thailand. Only Taiwan currently lists Krabi as a safe destination for tourists to visits.

Similarly the Pattaya hotel market is facing another awful year with occupancy of luxury establishments falling to below 50 per cent. Continue reading →

CHAOS reigns in Bangkok as clashes between red shirt protestors and government troops continued through the weekend leaving 34 dead and 211 injured.

Plans to enforce a curfew have been postponed although all government offices and schools remain shut as tourists and the general populace were warned not to venture onto the streets.

Clashes spread to Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani yesterday, which are both United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) strongholds within Thailand. Continue reading →

A TSUNAMI alert for Krabi was cancelled yesterday after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the Sumatran northern coast in Indonesia.

The National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) issued an warning for Krabi and the rest of the Andaman coast a 13:18 but this was cancelled by 14:11.

An NDWC spokesman said: “We cancelled the alert after we didn’t detect any waves.” Continue reading →

THE political crisis that has crippled Krabi’s tourism industry and seen more than 50 foreign embassies warn against travel to Thailand may soon be at an end.

The government meets today to put final touches to a ‘reconciliation roadmap’ which will cement a date for the dissolution of parliament.

This is the last demand before the red shirt leadership will agree to disband their Bangkok blockade and send supporters home, mainly to the rural northeast region. Continue reading →

NEW Zealand tourists in Thailand have been advised to flee the country because of the ongoing political crisis while US and Canadian citizens have told to avoid all travel to the Kingdom.

The upgraded advice will be a dagger blow to the already wailing Krabi tourism industry which has seen a sharp downturn in bookings since the start of the troubles.

Recent demonstrations in Chiang Mai and violent protests in the centre of Bangkok are said to behind the upgraded security directives. Continue reading →