Thailand can be a deadly destination for Australian tourists

[Bristolian]

http://www.thephuketnews.com/thailand-c ... -36747.php

'Thailand can be a deadly destination for Australian tourists'
PHUKET: Thailand is one of Australia's favourite overseas holiday destinations - but the popular family playground has a darker side, writes the Herald Sun.

Thursday 31 January 2013, 05:03PM
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Figures reveal the South-East Asian kingdom is the deadliest destination for Aussies. The 100 Australians who died there last year accounted for one in eight of the 791 deaths on foreign soil.

Greece, which boasts large numbers of dual Australian citizens, was the next most likely spot for Australian passport holders to die, with 58 deaths.

"Most died from natural causes, such as illness and age but, sadly, many - the result of accident or misadventure - were avoidable," Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Merrifield said.

An Australian dies in Thailand every four days on average and hundreds more require consular help.

Melbourne man Sebastian Eric Faulkner, 21, was the first Australian to die in Thailand this year when he fell to his death from a Phuket hotel balcony early on New Year's Day.

Consular officials say motorbikes, power-ski accidents and alcohol-fuelled mishaps are the most common cause of serious injuries. Thailand's full moon parties also often spark calls for help.

"Consular officers regularly assist young Australians who have been arrested, robbed, assaulted, sexually assaulted or injured during full moon parties," Mr Merrifield said.

"Tragically, Australians have also died as a result of full moon party accidents."

Disputes over power-ski hire, with claims of damage leading to demands for large amounts of compensation, are also common.

"We have had several reports of tourists being threatened with violence if the compensation is not paid. Some operators have also refused to return passports that tourists have left as a guarantee until such compensation is paid," he said.

Mr Merrifield explained that little could be done to help tourists in that situation: "It's essentially one person's word against the other. Police may become involved and a long legal battle may ensue."

Two alleged Australian outlaw motorcycle gang members were charged last week by Thai police over the shooting of two German tourists in Phuket.

Almost a third of the 875 incidents reported to consular officials in Thailand in 2011 happened at Phuket.

"At any single time, the Bangkok embassy can be managing 200 active consular cases -- including providing assistance to the families of the more than 100 Australians who sadly pass away in Thailand each year," Mr Merrifield said.

"Phuket . . . can account for as much as 60 per cent of the consular caseload during peak tourism season."

In 2012, 146 Australians sought help after being taken to hospital in Thailand, 57 were arrested, 15 were attacked and nine reported child abduction or custody problems. Most arrests involved drugs, theft and assault, with Aussies often facing penalties or jail, even for seemingly minor offences.

Consular officials also investigated 82 missing person reports and made 190 welfare checks and other serious investigations.

–Peter Mickelburough/Herald Sun

[Jimbob]

I would be curious to know similar figures for Brits in Thailand.

Incidently Bali is more popular than Phuket and is also a 'deathtrap for many visitors
Very familar story: An Australian dies in Bali every nine days on average and hundreds more need consular help while in the nation's favourite overseas holiday destination.
Australian consular officials say alcohol and drugs fuel many of the accidents and nightclub fights that are among the biggest causes of trouble for thousands of Aussies.

Information released to the Herald Sun by the Foreign Affairs Department reveals 39 Australians died in Bali in 2011-12.

Another 93 sought consular help in hospital, while 36 were arrested, 18 jailed and eight needed support after being attacked. The consulate is advised of all deaths but refused to detail their causes for privacy reasons.

It is advised of hospital admissions and arrests only where those involved seek to have Australian officials contacted.

Neither Bali's main Sanglah Hospital nor its police headquarters could say how many Australians were admitted or arrested in the past year.

"The most common reasons for illness or hospitalisation amongst young people who travel to Bali are injuries due to motorbike (scooter) accidents and nightclub fights," a DFAT spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/favo ... z2Jdnam41S

Of course affluence has led to many kids doing ;end of school; road trips to Bali. A big problem now is the dosing of drinks with methanol that has caused deaths or serious health problems.

[Lung Per]

Thailand can be a deadly destination for tourists. Period.

[Bristolian]

I agree that you need to be careful anywhere you travel but you have to also be carful of statistics and newspaper reports

On paper the Philippines records more Brit fatalities than anywhere else in Asia. However many more Brits retire to the Philippines than Thailand. Many more Brits simply die of old age in the Philippines than they do in Thailand. Statistics can prove anything if someone wants to do so.

I do not underestimate the risks posed to the unwary or stupidity of some tourists who should know better when visiting Thailand, or any other destination. However Thailand needs to be careful and act quickly to ensure that it can maintain and hopefully grow its position in the positive tourist market.

People generally believe what they see in print and statistics are used both positively and in a negative manner. Most of the news we see is negative. Positive news does not sell.

Thailand is not acting quickly enough and is prepared to accept the bad image...... Wake up Thailand!!!

[Dannie Boy]

I would be curious to know similar figures for Brits in Thailand.

Incidently Bali is more popular than Phuket and is also a 'deathtrap for many visitors
Very familar story: An Australian dies in Bali every nine days on average and hundreds more need consular help while in the nation's favourite overseas holiday destination.
Australian consular officials say alcohol and drugs fuel many of the accidents and nightclub fights that are among the biggest causes of trouble for thousands of Aussies.

Information released to the Herald Sun by the Foreign Affairs Department reveals 39 Australians died in Bali in 2011-12.

Another 93 sought consular help in hospital, while 36 were arrested, 18 jailed and eight needed support after being attacked. The consulate is advised of all deaths but refused to detail their causes for privacy reasons.

It is advised of hospital admissions and arrests only where those involved seek to have Australian officials contacted.

Neither Bali's main Sanglah Hospital nor its police headquarters could say how many Australians were admitted or arrested in the past year.

"The most common reasons for illness or hospitalisation amongst young people who travel to Bali are injuries due to motorbike (scooter) accidents and nightclub fights," a DFAT spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/favo ... z2Jdnam41S

Of course affluence has led to many kids doing ;end of school; road trips to Bali. A big problem now is the dosing of drinks with methanol that has caused deaths or serious health problems.

This is info from the British FCO and relates to the year April 2010 to March 2011:

A total of 967 people required consular assistance in the period covered by the report, from April 1 last year to March 31 this year.

Of these, 200 contacted local consuls after being arrested, 51 of them on drugs charges. A total of 347 British deaths in Thailand required consular action; 246 involved hospitalisation; five needed help after being raped and three after being sexually assaulted. Details of the remaining 166 cases are not revealed in the report.

Food for thought for British expats in Thailand: of the 347 British deaths in the country in the past year, over 75 per cent were residents. Natural causes was the most frequent cause of death, followed by road traffic accidents.

In absolute terms, Thailand comes fourth in the table of Brits requiring assistance, after Spain, the US and France, but in percentage terms the Land of Smiles wins by a country mile, with one in every 928 Britons visiting or living in Thailand calling for help. The ratio in Spain is 1:2,644, in the US it is 1:3,798 and in France it is 1:15,240.

The British Ambassador to Thailand, Asif Ahmad, commenting on the report, said, “847,000 British tourists visited Thailand in 2010 and over 50,000 British people are residents or spend much of the year here.

“Generally Thailand is a safe place to visit, but there are some risks, as the report shows. Taking some simple steps to prevent problems can help ensure your stay in Thailand is trouble free and enjoyable.

“I’d encourage those thinking about visiting Thailand to have adequate travel insurance; check our travel advice; ensure your passport is valid and know when your visa expires; and bring enough money to enjoy your stay and make sure you have access to emergency funds in case something goes wrong.

“British nationals resident in Thailand face a variety of other issues. My consular team is working on a project to help us better understand the issues affecting retired British nationals living in Thailand so we can help signpost them to help available locally.”

[STEVE G]

.....but in percentage terms the Land of Smiles wins by a country mile, with one in every 928 Britons visiting or living in Thailand calling for help. The ratio in Spain is 1:2,644, in the US it is 1:3,798 and in France it is 1:15,240.

Of course, you have to take into account the fact that far more people choose to live what is perhaps a pretty destructive form of lifestyle in Thailand, compared to a country like France, which doesn't mean the country itself is proportionally that much more dangerous.

[MrPlum]

Exclude motorbike accidents and alcohol-fuelled bar fights and it's not so bad. Those dumb enough to get involved in drugs can hardly complain if caught, while theft is common amongst the backpacker crowd. When I was travelling a lot, it was other foreigners doing the thieving.

Methanol in drinks is a worry. What's that about?

[Bristolian]

Exclude motorbike accidents and alcohol-fuelled bar fights and it's not so bad. Those dumb enough to get involved in drugs can hardly complain if caught, while theft is common amongst the backpacker crowd. When I was travelling a lot, it was other foreigners doing the thieving.

Methanol in drinks is a worry. What's that about?

http://www.travelvax.com.au/News/methan ... e-for.html

Check this out...
Methanol: The cocktail to die for

What’s in your drink?
Drinking methanol has the same effects as excessive drinking, but with pronounced vision problems.

Small amounts can be lethal
Methanol is cheap. It is widely used in formulations including antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, shellacs, various paints, paint removers, varnishes, duplicating fluids, and petrol additives.

Fatalities have been reported after ingestion of 15 ml or 3 teaspoons of a 40 per cent solution, although 30 ml is generally considered a minimal lethal dose.

With aggressive medical care it is possible to survive the ingestion of 500-600ml.

However, consumption of as little as 10ml may cause blindness, depending on the amount and individual tolerance.

Symptoms can occur in minutes – or days
Symptoms occur between 40 minutes and 72 hours after a drink is consumed. Drinking methanol with alcohol delays the appearance of symptoms, but their absence does not exclude serious toxicity. The usual latent period is 12-24 hours.

Clinical signs may include headache, vertigo, lethargy and confusion, which are common in mild to moderate ethanol intoxications. Coma and convulsions appear in severe cases, probably as a result of cerebral oedema.

Methanol produces little to no euphoria, unlike ethanol.

Rapid medical care is vital to avoid more severe complications of methanol poisoning.

The most seriously poisoned can lose consciousness and die of respiratory or heart failure. Some can linger in a coma for up to a week and may be left blinded.

[Jimbob]

Mr. Plum Two recent examples of methanol poisioning

A WA teenager suffering methanol poisoning from a drink he consumed near Bali has died in a Perth hospital.
Liam Davies, 19, had been celebrating with mates on New Year's Day when he became sick after drinking an alcoholic beverage at a bar on the holiday island of Lombok.
He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and later brought to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

This morning, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed the teenager had passed away
and last october:
AN Australian woman was flown to Royal Darwin Hospital from Bali in a coma after drinking a toxic cocktail which has killed at least four foreigners.

Jamie Johnston, 25, of Newcastle NSW, is struggling to speak, can barely walk and her legs are severely burnt after drinking a cocktail called jungle juice at a cafe on the island of Lombok, west of Bali, The Daily Telegraph reported.

“It burnt her from the inside out,” the mother of Ms Johnston's boyfriend Lyn Tisdell said.
“There needs to be more awareness out there about these drinks. Young people going there for schoolies please be careful of what you drink.”

The nurse collapsed at Denpasar Airport in Bali two weeks ago suffering renal failure a day after drinking the jungle juice while with her mum at Happy Cafe on the last night of their holiday.

Her mother, a lawyer, was not affected by the drink.

Ms Johnston slipped into a coma and sustained brain scarring because of lack of oxygen.

She spent two days at the hospital in Denpasar with no improvement before being medically evacuated to Darwin at a cost of $50,000.

Ms Johnston and her mother did not have any traveller's insurance.

Boyfriend of three years Dennis Tisdell 28, said doctors suspected the drink was laced with the chemical methanol sometimes used in the local brew arak, a distilled palm wine.

He said they were told Ms Johnston's mum did not get sick because the methanol was in the tops of the jugs of Jungle Juice.

Four foreigners were among 25 people killed by a tainted batch of arak in 2009.

There were more cases of Balinese people dying after drinking methanol-tainted arak last year.

[STEVE G]

When you consider that you can get a litre bottle of Benmore for 400 odd baht, an indifferent but oddly drinkable blended Scotch, I can't see why you would bother to drink methanol.
(Unless it's already in the Benmore, of course!)

[Dannie Boy]

When you consider that you can get a litre bottle of Benmore for 400 odd baht, an indifferent but oddly drinkable blended Scotch, I can't see why you would bother to drink methanol.
(Unless it's already in the Benmore, of course!)

I can only imagine that most people are unaware they are drinking methanol otherwise as you suggest, why would they do it?

[dozer]

Security concerns are not only restricted to tourism, my company has had Thailand on the elevated security risk category since the hospital siege incident at Ratchaburi in January 2000.

List of concerns include, the insurgency in The South, the Political motivated violence and relations with immediate neighbours.

They also have a evacuation plan, which is reviewed on a regular basis.

I don't necessarily agree with their security risk assessments, but can't complain it gives me a 5% (security)salary uplift.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/616772.stm

[Nereus]

I guess this comes under the: "if you were not here, you would not drink it" category!
.......................................................................................
Campaign to shut 'methanol bar'

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa ... hanol-bar/

The grieving parents of Liam Davies have hired an Indonesian lawyer in a bid to close down the bar which allegedly poisoned their son.

"We want to see the bar closed down," Lhani Davies said yesterday. "That's what we want. For Liam's sake."

Their move comes a month after the 19-year-old Perth roof tiler died when drinks laced with methanol were served to him during New Year's Eve celebrations on the holiday island of Gili Trawangan.

It also follows an investigation by The West Australian that showed the bar believed responsible - Rudy's Pub - was still operating after their son's death and serving poisonous drinks to oblivious tourists.

Last week, amid no sign of a police investigation, Mrs Davies and her husband Tim flew to Indonesia to push for a probe into their son's death. With Rosalind Jay, an 18-year-old Canadian backpacker who was poisoned on the same night as their son but survived, they went with police to Rudy's Pub, handed over their son's medical records to police and gave official statements in the hope of kick-starting a belated manslaughter investigation.

Lombok police took a drink sample from the bar and expect the result this week. They said tests positive for methanol would result in criminal charges against those responsible.


Lhani Davies comforts husband Tim at Lombok police headquarters. Picture: Steve Pennells/The West Australian

The grieving parents of Liam Davies have hired an Indonesian lawyer in a bid to close down the bar which allegedly poisoned their son.

"We want to see the bar closed down," Lhani Davies said yesterday. "That's what we want. For Liam's sake."

Their move comes a month after the 19-year-old Perth roof tiler died when drinks laced with methanol were served to him during New Year's Eve celebrations on the holiday island of Gili Trawangan.

It also follows an investigation by The West Australian that showed the bar believed responsible - Rudy's Pub - was still operating after their son's death and serving poisonous drinks to oblivious tourists.

Last week, amid no sign of a police investigation, Mrs Davies and her husband Tim flew to Indonesia to push for a probe into their son's death. With Rosalind Jay, an 18-year-old Canadian backpacker who was poisoned on the same night as their son but survived, they went with police to Rudy's Pub, handed over their son's medical records to police and gave official statements in the hope of kick-starting a belated manslaughter investigation.

Lombok police took a drink sample from the bar and expect the result this week. They said tests positive for methanol would result in criminal charges against those responsible.


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Methanol poisoning in paradiseLiam Davies took every precaution against Bali's dangers, but within days of drinking a single vodka soda, his parents had to make the agonising decision to turn off his life support.

But Mr and Mrs Davies, who returned to Perth at the weekend, also hired a lawyer as their representative on the ground to ensure the investigation does not stall.

"We wanted to have somebody who understands the system and how the system works and who we know is talking straight with us," Mrs Davies said.

"We want someone who is not giving us lip service."

In the four weeks since Mr Davies died, Australian and Indonesian authorities have contradicted each other over whether an investigation was taking place and whether critical information had been passed between them.

Three weeks ago, days after he died and despite widespread media coverage in Australia, Lombok police said they had no knowledge of his death.

Last week, they claimed an initial investigation had collapsed because Australian Federal Police did not pass on critical information, including the name of the bar.

Rudy's Pub, on the main tourist strip of Gili Trawangan, is open 24 hours a day and is popular with young backpackers and tourists.

Despite Indonesia's tough stance on drugs, marijuana, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine are openly traded and used at the bar and across the island, which has no full-time police.

An alcohol sample _The West Australian _ took from Rudy's Pub in the week after Mr Davies died showed methanol at four times the level considered dangerous.

Separate tests by Sydney's Sunday Telegraph newspaper backed the finding. It said yesterday its samples taken from the bar last week also contained industrial-grade methanol.

"Oh my God, that gives me goosebumps," Mrs Davies said.

The couple said they were also in the preliminary stages of setting up a charity in memory of their son.

Using his name as an acronym, they plan to launch the Lombok Initiative Against Methanol to fund methanol education and medical testing equipment on the island.

[MajorBloodnok]

Sorry, but the tragic, fatal incident happened on BALI, INDONESIA!

The headline therefore is false and misleading!

The thread should therefore be removed!

An irresponsible piece of scaremongering!

MB

[Nereus]

Sorry, but the tragic, fatal incident happened on BALI, INDONESIA!
The headline therefore is false and misleading!
The thread should therefore be removed!
An irresponsible piece of scaremongering!MB

Scaremongering? WTF? The thread wandered off long before my post. And the victim is just as dead as he was before!