A foreign tourist found himself in a precarious situation when a parasailing adventure went awry, leaving him stranded atop a 5-metre pine tree on Kamala Beach in Phuket. Police were called to the scene to rescue him using a crane truck.
Surasit Wandee, a deputy investigator at Kamala Police Station in Phuket, received a report of a foreign tourist stuck in a tree while parasailing at 6pm yesterday, July 1. The incident occurred on Kamala Beach, Kamala Subdistrict, Kathu District. Upon receiving the report, police promptly headed to the site to investigate.
Upon arrival, they found a parasail entangled at the top of a pine tree near the beach. The tourist, later identified as 26 year old Mohammed Ali Warrad Abdul Wahab from Saudi Arabia, was left dangling and swaying from the tree’s peak, unable to descend on his own.
Police immediately coordinated with emergency services and a crane truck from Kamala Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (SAO) to facilitate the rescue. The team managed to safely bring Abdul Wahab down without any injuries. Initial assessments suggest that a sudden change in wind direction caused the parasail to veer off course, leading to the tourist’s unexpected predicament.
“The rapid change in wind direction likely caused the parasail to lift the tourist into the tree.”
Police advised tourists to ensure they are briefed thoroughly on safety measures before participating in parasailing or any other adventurous activities. Operators are also urged to stay updated on weather forecasts and to conduct regular equipment checks to prevent such incidents in the future, reported KhaoSod.
In related news, a Thai parasailing operator agreed to pay a Chinese tourist 400,000 baht in compensation after she broke her leg in a parasailing accident on Karon Beach in Phuket on Saturday, February 24. The operator blamed the accident on a change in wind direction and insisted they adhered to strict safety measures.
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