Santorini Park bungee failure - a lucky escape

[Frank Hovis]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... regulation

The operator of Santorini Park in Cha-am said on Wednesday its G-Max Reverse Bungy amusement ride, which malfunctioned seconds before it was due to activate, was imported from New Zealand and the manufacturer had already sent people to inspect the equipment.

According to the Santori announcement, Thailand has no specific laws on amusement equipment. Therefore, the Santorini Park operator had asked for a building and building modification licence from local authority.

"The amusement machines and buildings at Santorini Park meet international standards," the company statement said.

It doesn't bear thinking about what would've happened if it snapped after launch.

[bonnielass]

OMG - This makes my blood run cold.

My niece and her boyfriend were in an accident on a reverse bungee in Dubai in 1999.
They had already launched it from the ground when one of the chords snapped.
The cage they were in smashed violently back and forth against the crane where the remaining chord was still attached. When they eventually got it back down both occupants were highly traumatised and rushed to hospital. My niece got away with a broken leg, her boyfriend broke his back and was in a wheelchair for 9 months. Both thankfully made a full recovery.

I have never witnessed such an awful spectacle in my entire life.

The equipment was also manufactured in New Zealand, so you would expect high safety standards.

The moral of the story - give it a miss!

[Ginjaninja]

http://news.sky.com/story/916074/bungee ... sted-river


GN.

[bonnielass]

I've done some daft things in my time, but bungee ain't ever gonna be on the menu!

[charlesh]

With the economic constraints and the movement to free trade and a level playing field the material was probably sourced and extruded in China and assembled in NZ (made from the finest imported parts )ha, ha.
Let's hope the Santorini management team can substantiate a monitoring and maintenance program that is ISO approved and audited regularly.

[Bomber]

I tried it once and won't do it again -just too scary!! The video above is amazing and shows how easily things can go wrong.

[Takiap]

Scary stuff, but all in all, bungee jumping is actually quite safe, and especially if you compare it to some other thrill seeking events. The "jungle bungee" in Phuket for example hasn't had any accidents and neither have countless others around the world. I did some climbing in my younger day, and that too had an element of danger. I guess that's what attracts people in the first place. Nonetheless, if you are making money from offering thrills, then you have a responsibility to keep your customers safe.

[PeteC]

"Thailand has no specific laws on amusement equipment"...That's the key point concerning the current incident and all the others we read about throughout the country from time to time. No laws = no safety inspection beyond what the operator may feel like doing when the spirit moves him. Pete

[margaretcarnes]

When did the Santorini Park officially open? I've only just seen pics of it on another forum, and apologise if it's been publicised on here earlier.
Apart from the problems with the bungee though - what do people think of the place? It looks much too 'twee' to me, and seems to be trying to cater for everything, which will probably appeal to Bangkok weekenders - especially at a very reasonable 50 baht entry fee. But the pics remind me of the Prisoner somehow.....

[Big Boy]

It was originally discussed here www.huahinforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20492&p=253091 , and later here www.huahinforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=23602&p=299147 .

[GLCQuantum]

When did the Santorini Park officially open? I've only just seen pics of it on another forum, and apologise if it's been publicised on here earlier.
Apart from the problems with the bungee though - what do people think of the place? It looks much too 'twee' to me, and seems to be trying to cater for everything, which will probably appeal to Bangkok weekenders - especially at a very reasonable 50 baht entry fee. But the pics remind me of the Prisoner somehow.....

About half of my Grade 4 and 5 students in Bangkok (approx 20 kids) visit frequently during school breaks, and they all report back that they love it there. Haven't been myself so can't comment, but they seem to be doing something right regarding keeping the kids entertained.

[Big Boy]

That's interesting GLC. I've avoided the place until now because of reports. Maybe worth taking my granddaughters after all.

[Frank Hovis]

I think the 50 baht entrance fee is only at the weekends.

I haven't been since they opened the water park and the snow dome but at the time each amusement ride was 120 baht per person which I feel was far too much, that may have changed by now.

[GLCQuantum]

Just looking at their website and it seems 'America's Best Haunted House' is coming in October too.

http://www.santoriniparkchaam.com/

I agree with Frank that, if you have to pay upwards of 100 baht to go on each ride, it could end up being a very expensive day out indeed if you have a few in tow. I'll probably give it a whirl with my younger sisters over the October break to see what the fuss is about.

[huahin4ever]

Myself and the missus went there 1 month ago. To cut it short bot myself and her agreed "been there, done that". As you may understand we were not impressed.

In the same trip we tried the Swiss Sheep Farm. Same there, "been there, done that". Will not repeat.

Well, it is a hit or miss. These places weren't any special. In my opinion the Santorini is like the premium outlet, selling all the different brands of clothing, and the attractions don't operate continuously. This was in the weekend and you would thing that for example the Paris Wheel should be running, but it was not. The crowd as I understood was mainly Bangkok people.

We will not go again.