Canadian tourist killed in zip line accident
A 25-year-old Canadian tourist fell to his death yesterday when a zip-line ride went wrong in Chiang Mai.
Police said the tourist was riding a zip line of the Flight of the Gibbon rainforest adventure in Mae Kam Pong, when they believe his safety locks broke, causing him to fall 50 metres into a creek.
Police said the management of Flight of the Gibbon have promised to take full responsibility and compensate the victim’s family.
Flight of the Gibbon had previously been temporarily closed after three Israeli tourists were injured in a collision and fell to the ground in 2016.
Two Chinese tourists had died in 2015 after falling from two separate zip-line attractions, one operated by Skyline Adventure, the other at Flying Squirrels.
Another Chinese tourist was injured at the Flying Squirrels’ zip-line attraction in 2016.
In yesterday’s accident, police suspect the safety locks broke shortly after the Canadian took off from the launch position.
They suspect the safety equipment could not hold the young man’s weight. Initial investigations showed only three cables holding the tourist compared to the normal of minimum eight cable lines to ensure safety.
There was media speculation that the man’s weight was well above the prescribed maximum with a policeman saying the tourist weighed around 180 kilograms. However, a close family member has clarified that the 25-year-old weighed around 125 kilograms.
The Flight of the Gibbon website says people weighing more than 125 kilograms are not allowed to ride.
Source: Thethaiger.com