Tourist Survives from Parasail fall in Phuket
A Chinese man has found himself lucky to escape with minor injuries after falling from a parasail in Phuket after it got tangled in a tree.
A 62-year-old Chinese tourist escaped with only bruises after he fell from a parasail onto Patong Beach yesterday but it’s the latest in a string of accidents to befall the parasailing industry on Phuket’s beaches this year.
Zhao Jiangying, from Hebei, was taken to Patong Hospital at about 10am after the parasail carrying him became tangled with a pine tree, Tourist Police confirmed.
“Medical staff did not found any broken bones. Apparently the man suffered only a bruise on his hip,” one officer explained.
Police questioned the speedboat driver, Wason Klabdee, 24, who was towing the tourist and the parasail into the air.
Wason said, “While Mr Zhao was on the parasail, the parachute became caught up with a pine tree and he fell down onto the sand.”
The safety incident follows Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup earlier this month calling for health forms to be completed before allowing any persons to take parasail rides at Phuket’s most-popular tourist beach.
That call came after the Patong Parasail Club, representing all parasail operators on Patong Beach, submitted its version of self-imposed safety guidelines for all parasail operators in Patong to follow.
The operators agreed to draft a list of guidelines after the news of a Chinese tourist allowing his infant daughter to be lifted screaming into the sky on a parasail ride at Patong made international headlines on Aug 16, and the death of tourist Roger Hussey, 70, who fell 70 meters to his death at Kata Beach in July making international headlines and prompting a full safety review of all parasail operators on the island.
Source: Coconuts
