Phuket NEWS:

Saturday, October 25, 2003

German boy dies on jet-ski

PATONG: A 13-year-old German boy died yesterday after the jet-ski he was riding crashed into a moored long-tail boat in the sea off Patong.

The boy, named by police as Jonathan Nerlich, was riding a jet-ski that police officers said had been hired for him by his father. The father was on the beach at the time.

The boy died before rescuers could get him to Patong Hospital.

His death is likely to rekindle debate about the dangers of jet-skis being ridden by inexperienced people, particularly in waters where there are also swimmers. Several people have previously been seriously injured in mishaps.

Despite agitation about the dangers, there were no floats in the water yesterday to separate the swimming and jet-skiing areas off Patong.

Pol Capt Serm Kwannimit, duty officer at Kathu police station, told the Gazette, “Sometimes floats are put in the water when there’s a storm, but not yesterday.”

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