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**TornadoPD** · 09-21-2012, 03:50 PM

As I was swimming on a Koh Samet beach, horrifiyng picture from the film "Jaws" came to my mind, I considered that I was in Bay of Thailand-Indian Ocean, not in Lake Michigan, and in oceans sharks are at home, and we people are intruders, and possible victims of their attacks,, so I slowly swam to shore and out of imagined harms way. I looked at a web recording sharks attacks in Asian countries...and according to this web last fatal shark attack in Thailand occured in 2000. According to same web most other countries around Thailand had more registered attacks than this, Singapore 5,..the last one way back in 1950`s. So could these be true & accurate stats.?......with such long shore line, and so many beaches with so many swimmers, and so many hungry sharks out there in the ocean and in shallower beach waters could that be true that no shark attacks occured in Thai waters since 2000?....or are they not reported when they happen-for fear of panicking tourists and maybe turning them away?

I don't know about sharks, but they're not the only ocean nasties that can get you in Thailand - there's jellyfishes as well. Just look what happened to this poor guy in 2002...

(From 2002) An Australian man has died from multiple stings by a toxic jellyfish near a popular backpacker resort on a southern Thai island.

Sean Tyrrell, 25, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Ban Don Inter-clinic on Koh Phangan island after being stung in the late afternoon of August 9, a spokeswoman at the clinic said.

Mr Tyrrell, from Victoria, was stung while swimming at Koh Phangan's Hat Rin beach, popular with backpacker travellers for regular full moon rave parties.

Officials said he suffered terrible pain from the stings which left large welt marks on his legs.

"The long tentacles wrapped around his legs three or four times each. It would have been an excruciating death," an official said.

Officials and the hospital spokeswoman said they were unaware of the species of jellyfish which caused the deaths.

Australia has warned travellers to the resort island 650km south of Bangkok to "exercise extreme caution" when swimming.

Two days after Mr Tyrrell's death, a Moroccan woman died at the nearby Koh Samui hospital after being stung while also swimming at Koh Phangan Island.

Thai police stationed on the island have since been handing out leaflets warning visitors against swimming, especially in the latter part of the day and early evening.

But officials said many of the travellers were disregarding the warnings.

"There is a general culture on the island that all is OK," one official said.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a warning last week advising Australians to "exercise extreme care" about the safety of swimming in particular locations on the island.

"Due to the uncertainty about the species and toxicity of the jellyfish that caused the deaths, swimmers, snorkellers, and divers are advised to leave the water if jellyfish are spotted," DFAT said in the notice.

The deaths have surprised the diving community, with southern Thailand one of the most popular locations for deep sea diving in South East Asia, especially during the peak season of November through to March.

But the country is presently in the grip of the rainy monsoon season, with the waters clouded from river silt and evidence of jellyfish along many beaches in the southern provinces.

Tony Green, managing director of Phuket-based H2O Sports said the deaths were unheard of.

"We take a lot of divers and had people stung. But from our experience those are minor. We have never heard of or seen a potential lethal jellyfish," Mr Green said. And with the nasty rip currents that are common in Thailand it's easy to drown even without the help of sharks or jellyfishes. Be careful out there!

09-21-2012, 03:50 PM	#6
TornadoPD Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 414 Senior Member	As I was swimming on a Koh Samet beach, horrifiyng picture from the film "Jaws" came to my mind, I considered that I was in Bay of Thailand-Indian Ocean, not in Lake Michigan, and in oceans sharks are at home, and we people are intruders, and possible victims of their attacks,, so I slowly swam to shore and out of imagined harms way. I looked at a web recording sharks attacks in Asian countries...and according to this web last fatal shark attack in Thailand occured in 2000. According to same web most other countries around Thailand had more registered attacks than this, Singapore 5,..the last one way back in 1950`s. So could these be true & accurate stats.?......with such long shore line, and so many beaches with so many swimmers, and so many hungry sharks out there in the ocean and in shallower beach waters could that be true that no shark attacks occured in Thai waters since 2000?....or are they not reported when they happen-for fear of panicking tourists and maybe turning them away? I don't know about sharks, but they're not the only ocean nasties that can get you in Thailand - there's jellyfishes as well. Just look what happened to this poor guy in 2002... (From 2002) An Australian man has died from multiple stings by a toxic jellyfish near a popular backpacker resort on a southern Thai island. Sean Tyrrell, 25, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Ban Don Inter-clinic on Koh Phangan island after being stung in the late afternoon of August 9, a spokeswoman at the clinic said. Mr Tyrrell, from Victoria, was stung while swimming at Koh Phangan's Hat Rin beach, popular with backpacker travellers for regular full moon rave parties. Officials said he suffered terrible pain from the stings which left large welt marks on his legs. "The long tentacles wrapped around his legs three or four times each. It would have been an excruciating death," an official said. Officials and the hospital spokeswoman said they were unaware of the species of jellyfish which caused the deaths. Australia has warned travellers to the resort island 650km south of Bangkok to "exercise extreme caution" when swimming. Two days after Mr Tyrrell's death, a Moroccan woman died at the nearby Koh Samui hospital after being stung while also swimming at Koh Phangan Island. Thai police stationed on the island have since been handing out leaflets warning visitors against swimming, especially in the latter part of the day and early evening. But officials said many of the travellers were disregarding the warnings. "There is a general culture on the island that all is OK," one official said. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a warning last week advising Australians to "exercise extreme care" about the safety of swimming in particular locations on the island. "Due to the uncertainty about the species and toxicity of the jellyfish that caused the deaths, swimmers, snorkellers, and divers are advised to leave the water if jellyfish are spotted," DFAT said in the notice. The deaths have surprised the diving community, with southern Thailand one of the most popular locations for deep sea diving in South East Asia, especially during the peak season of November through to March. But the country is presently in the grip of the rainy monsoon season, with the waters clouded from river silt and evidence of jellyfish along many beaches in the southern provinces. Tony Green, managing director of Phuket-based H2O Sports said the deaths were unheard of. "We take a lot of divers and had people stung. But from our experience those are minor. We have never heard of or seen a potential lethal jellyfish," Mr Green said. And with the nasty rip currents that are common in Thailand it's easy to drown even without the help of sharks or jellyfishes. Be careful out there!
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