CityNews – Following the death of a Chinese tourist on a zipline on October 11, police have closed the company for three days while they inspect their equipment.
When the case came to light, there was confusion between what happened after the company claimed the woman, 32-year-old Wang Qi, blacked out and had a heart attack while the autopsy results showed she had died from a broken neck.
According to Santi Pitikarm, representative of the company responsible, their zipline equipment has a high safety standard and that the death was actually due to the carelessness of two employees, 31-year-old Taweesin Pongpanasawat and 23-year-old Athiwat Orkha. The two employees let Wang ride the zipline while another person was on the same zipline, causing them to collide and Wang falling.
The company has agreed to cooperate with police and has offered the two employees to be prosecuted.
The company also has paid for the victim’s family’s flights to and accommodation at Chiang Mai. The company received 1 million baht from their insurance, and is ready to help the family with any costs.
According to Police Major General Montree Sambunnanon, commander of Chiang Mai Provincial Police, the owners of 14 companies providing zipline adventures in four districts of Chiang Mai will be summoned to be join a safety briefing to prevent the same incidents happening again.
According to Montree Piyakul of Chiang Mai Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports, there are no current zipline safety standards laws despite the number of zipline adventures in the country. However, Zipline companies will now have to adjust their safety standards by April 24, 2016, when new safety regulations come into effect.
The two employees, Taweesin and Athiwat, have been accused of being careless, causing death to other people.
The investigation continues.