The tourist's cord broke and he plunged into the lake from a height of about five metres. - HK01
BANGKOK (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A tourist in Thailand sought the thrill of freefalling but wound up in a hospital after the bungee cord attached to his feet snapped in mid-air.
Mike, who is from Hong Kong, had leapt off a platform 10 storeys high - about 30m - before his cord broke, sending him plunging into a lake in popular Thai tourist destination Pattaya.
He momentarily blacked out in the water, reported Hong Kong news outlet hk01, but regained consciousness and swam out of the lake with the help of the attraction’s employees.
The incident, which took place at the Changthai Thappraya Safari and Adventure Park, reportedly happened last month.
Mike told hk01: “The pain was so intense that I felt dizzy. As my arms were stretched out, my armpit area was the worst hit.”
A video of the incident shows Mike freefalling for about six seconds and approaching the surface of the lake when the bungee cord suddenly breaks off.
He enters the water head first from a height of about 5m with a big splash, to the horror of his friends who were watching and filming the jump.
Pictures of his injuries show bruises on his limbs, with the skin around his armpit area appearing peeled. Mike told hk01 he also suffered a lung infection and was hospitalised for three days after returning to Hong Kong.
His medical bills came up to about HK$50,000 (S$8,510), which was covered by travel insurance. He said the park offered him only HK$2,300 in medical fees and a refund of the bungee jump.
Mike said he has written an e-mail to the park and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to lodge a complaint but has not received a reply.
He wrote: “My friends and I suffered losses due to the accident, including changes to our travel plans, my injuries and income loss... If the accident had been more severe, I could have lost my life.”
Last November, a woman visiting Columbia accidentally leapt to her death after forgetting she was not attached to a bungee cord.
Yecenia Morales Gómez, 25, allegedly heard an instructor telling her partner to jump and believed the command was for her.
