Speeding Boat on Saen Saeb Swamps People on Pier

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If you have ever used the canal boat services on Saen Saeb in Bangkok then you will surely be outraged by this CCTV clip from Charn Issara Pier taken on Tuesday night. Saen Saeb is probably the most polluted canal in Thailand that offers public boat services. If you fall into this smelly canal you will surely die. That is no exaggeration as people have died in the past. People are paranoid about getting just a few drops on them while riding these boats.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0JdZN5hWbE
What you see in this video clip is first one and then another boat seemingly racing along Saen Saeb. The wake from the second boat completely swamps the people waiting on a pier knocking two of them off their feet. One of them loses her shoes. If you look at the trees above the pier you can see how high the black, putrid water reached. Luckily no-one was killed. But hopefully they immediately went to hospital for a medical check-up. This is no laughing matter.

UPDATE: The boat operators accept responsibility and said it was a mistake on their part. The two boats were being operated by engineers. This will no longer be allowed and there will be a strict rule that only  qualified boat captains can operate the canal boats. There were no passengers on board the boats at the time.

UPDATE 2: The Bangkok Post now has an article on this.

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13 thoughts on “Speeding Boat on Saen Saeb Swamps People on Pier

  • April 5, 2013 at 5:06 pm
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    I don’t think the boat drivers did it on purpose … I’ve seen shit like that many times when I used to take the boat a lot and the water was high … It was just bad timing because two boats crossed that waiting area at almost the same time, causing the big splash … And the boat was full so they were just moving along at their normal speed …

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  • April 5, 2013 at 1:04 pm
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    that is terrible, it’s 7:31pm and they should not be racing.

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  • April 5, 2013 at 11:57 am
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    The two boats were racing each other. The operators of the two boats obviously didn’t give a damn about the consequences of their actions for passengers. Selfish – uncaring and stupid are words that quickly come to mind. Mind you these characteristics can easily be applied everyday to the drivers of public passenger vehicles – vans – buses – taxis – motorcycle-taxis in Bangkok and elsewhere. They should both be arrested and imprisoned for this. And yes that water is exremely polluted and toxic – in the extreme.

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    • April 5, 2013 at 5:04 pm
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      I don’t think the boat drivers did it on purpose … I’ve seen shit like that many times when I used to take the boat a lot and the water was high … It was just bad timing because two boats crossed that waiting area at almost the same time, causing the big splash … And the boat was full so they were just moving along at their normal speed …

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  • April 5, 2013 at 10:47 am
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    I wouldnt say death was a certainty although i will agree the water is pretty putrid, however any children or elderly people could have easily been swept into the water and drowned.

    Sadly this is another case of people not being taught from an early age of the consequences of their actions on their suurroundings. Knucklehead central.

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  • April 5, 2013 at 8:57 am
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    yes, the water is full of baterial because the sewage & garbages goes into it too. so there is a very high chance of catching an infection.

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  • April 5, 2013 at 8:22 am
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    Brutal. Driver was probably drunk, hopefully located on te schedule through the clock on the CCTV and fired.

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    • April 5, 2013 at 11:59 am
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      And/or under the influence of amphetamines (ya-ba).

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  • April 5, 2013 at 7:34 am
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    They should be prosecuted! There were times when I got a few drops on me and the Thais around me wiped me off! That said Richard, “you will surely die,” is a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think? I’m sure we’ve all seen boys swimming and playing in that water without dying, haven’t we?

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    • April 5, 2013 at 7:51 am
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      Yes, but did you follow up with those boys. What is their life expectancy swimming there?

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      • April 5, 2013 at 3:45 pm
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        True, I have no idea. I know I wouldn’t go in that water unless it was a matter of life or death!

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  • April 5, 2013 at 7:18 am
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    I got really sick after getting splashed on one of the Saen Saeb boats. Came down with strep throat the day after I used the boats. I’m normally very healthy and never get sick, have never gotten sick in Thailand. Rode the boat, got badly splashed and got sick the next day. I know it’s possible something else got me but I’ve retraced my steps for the days before and I did nothing that would have exposed me to strep. (That I know of. I am not a doctor, I just play one in my mind)

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