PHOTO: Sunshine International Retirement Residence & Serviced Apartment, Hua Hin

Sunshine International, Thailand’s leading brand of retirement residences says that their project which was due to be constructed near Chiang Mai’s city centre has now been cancelled.

Sunshine International, a retirement property that included around the clock medical facilities, on site doctors and nurses, and state of the art facilities, was due to be built on a five rai site in central Chiang Mai.

But ThaiVisa reports that the company says, due to the problems the city is experiencing with poor air quality, smog and pollution, it has been forced to cancel the Sunshine International Retirement Residences project.

Andrew Stocks of Sunshine International said they had an increase in people contacting them saying they have been forced to leave Chiang Mai because of the smog.

He said that due to the negative impact the project is currently not viable.

Andrew said his company will now focus on its other retirement projects located in Hua Hin, as well as a soon to be announced project in Phuket. He said Sunshine International would consider returning to Chiang Mai again if the smog situation improved.

Andrew called on the authorities to step in to help protect the livelihoods of local people who rely on income generated by the tourism industry in the region.

SOURCE: ThaiVisa.com

PHOTOS: Guruchiangmai

The ‘Flight of the Gibbon’ zipline ride in Chiang Mai has been ordered to temporarily shut down while an investigation continues into the death of a Canadian tourist on Saturday.

The Canadian tourist’s weight has been officially reported now as 122 kilograms after a lot of discussion in Thai media whether the man was over the 125 kilogram weight limit for the ride.

The 25 year old Canadian tourist, Donaldson Spencer Charles, fell to his death after safety lines allegedly broke on his zipline ride in Chiang Mai. He was traveling with a group, including his girlfriend, at the time. Initial investigations indicate that the young men fell shortly after launching off the treetop platform.

Read The Thaiger’s initial report HERE.

Guruchiangmai website report that the zipline has been order to temporary shutdown and the riding license has been withdrew

And Khaosod English reported yesterday that Chiang Mai’s Governor Supphachai Eiamsuwan has published the 25 year old Canadian tourist Spencer Donaldson’s weight as 122 kilograms. He was a resident of British Columbia.

No charges have yet been filed in the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, the management at the Flight of the Gibbon say they will take full responsibility and have offered extra compensation to the victim’s family, in addition to a 1 million baht insurance payout. At this stage their website is taking bookings and there is no mention of the incident.

Online, the tourist attraction claims it’s the “#1 zipline tour operator in Thailand,” and that it was established 12 years ago.

Flight of the Gibbon has been temporarily shut down before after three Israeli tourists were injured after colliding into one another and falling to the ground in 2016.

Another two Chinese tourists died in 2015 after falling from two separate zipline attractions, one operated by Skyline Adventure, the other at Flying Squirrels. There was also another Chinese tourist injured at the Flying Squirrels’ zipline attraction in 2016.