Bungy Rope Breaks in Phuket

[Richard Barrow]

My bungee nightmare: Briton hits water at 80mph after elastic cord flies loose
Daily Mail
By Kate Loveys

As he hurtled towards the water at 80mph on a bungee jump, Rishi Baveja anxiously awaited the moment when the elastic cord snapped him back aloft.

It never came.

The harness around his feet worked free and he continued accelerating until he hit the surface of a Thai lagoon.

Fortunately he managed to take the full force of the impact on his chest, escaping catastrophic head injuries.

But the Cambridge graduate still suffered a ruptured spleen, torn liver, collapsed lungs and massive bruising.

Surgeons, who likened his injuries to those of a car crash victim, had to remove the spleen and he spent a month in a Bangkok hospital before he was well enough to return to his home near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

'All the doctors were staggered that I lived,' he said. 'I'm very lucky. If I had landed head first I would be brain damaged or dead.'

Mr Baveja, whose father Amarjeet is a GP, was in Phuket on a month-long holiday to celebrate gaining a 2.2 degree in engineering.

He paid £50 to make the jump at the Jungle Bungy centre in Kathu.

A crane took him to a 165ft platform where a harness was placed around his feet and fastened to a bungee cord with several wraps of material.

A video of the jump records his yelp of fear just before he hits the water, while an instructor appears to say 'Oh', as the realisation of what is happening dawns on him.

Mr Baveja said it was not clear how the harness was able to work loose and he would not be suing the operators because he feels there is little prospect of success.

'I knew the jump would be scary but I didn't think it was dangerous. I had a long phone conversation with my mum telling her it was safe.

'She only believed me when I told her that the website of the jump centre claimed it had a 100 per cent safety record. It still says that. I didn't need to do that jump. I wish I hadn't.'

Mr Baveja's parents flew out to his bedside when they were told of the accident.

Despite losing his spleen he hopes to return to full health - and has not been put off extreme sports.

He plans to go skydiving when he has recovered.

Read more and video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0T106SVT9

Pic from Daily Mail of the jump.

[Richard Barrow]

This is from their website:

Since 1992 we have been operating the ONLY fully licensed and insured Bungy Jump in Phuket. We have a 100% safety record and comply with strict regulations in regards to equipement and safety proceedures.

http://www.phuketbungy.com

Just shows that you cannot believe any claims that they make. If you feel strongly about this, send them an email info@phuketbungy.com to ask them to remove this sentence.

[misterA]

This seems to have happened well over a month ago? Did this ever make the news in Thailand?

[Richard Barrow]

This seems to have happened well over a month ago? Did this ever make the news in Thailand?

I didn't see anything in the Phuket newspapers and it certainly wasn't in the national press. Makes you wonder what else we have missed.

[Frankie]

I didn't see anything in the Phuket newspapers and it certainly wasn't in the national press. Makes you wonder what else we have missed.

Money screams,you can also be rest assured that travel agents will not shine a negative light on the situation either.Things like that sell as part of extended holidays.


p.s - The gentleman in question isnt going to bother sueing the company as he expects no success.Had it happened in the west he would have up for a fortune.

[Richard Barrow]

p.s - The gentleman in question isnt going to bother sueing the company as he expects no success.Had it happened in the west he would have up for a fortune.

This is from their website:

The jump is New Zealand & Aussie owned, with a new zealand management team bringing the western high standards for safety and service. Our jump crew is highly skilled, efficient, and most importantly regards safety as PRIORITY ONE!

Presumably Thai people are majority owners as that would be illegal if it wasn't.

It is possible he signed his life away before he jumped saying that the owners accept no responsibility in the event of his death or serious injury.

But it wouldn't hurt to sue them about the claim on their website about 100% safety record. The new consumer protection court is apparently very easy and also effective.

[Surawut]

I didn't see anything in the Phuket newspapers and it certainly wasn't in the national press. Makes you wonder what else we have missed.

"Sensitive for tourism" I suspect.

[Surawut]

This is from their website:



Just shows that you cannot believe any claims that they make. If you feel strongly about this, send them an email info@phuketbungy.com to ask them to remove this sentence.

[Since 1992 we have been operating the ONLY fully licensed and insured Bungy Jump in Phuket. We have a 100% safety record and comply with strict regulations in regards to equipement and safety proceedures].

If their safety is as bad as their spelling, I don't have much confidence in their claims.

[Frankie]

Fully Licensed and Insured
Since 1992 we have been operating the ONLY fully licensed and insured Bungy Jump in Phuket. Our site fully complies with strict regulations in regards to equipment and safety proceedures.

Be interesting to read what the policy (especially the small print) has to say.But really,when we are in holiday mode its very seldom we scrutinise detail as such to deeply.Seems the victim has thrown in the towel before even starting so perhaps he was aware of the disclaimer.

[stevenl]

Here the Phuket Gazette story, with the management of the Bungee Jump giving an explanation.