Wave of disapproval: Krabi residents make waves as foreign men scale tsunami tower in unruly act
Residents in the southern province of Krabi condemned two foreign men for their unruly behaviour after they put their lives in danger to climb a 16-metre tsunami warning tower on Ao Nang Beach. Witnesses speculated that the duo was under the influence of alcohol.
A 25 year old Thai woman shared a video of the two foreigners with the Thai news agency. The footage taken at 11pm on Wednesday, June 21, depicted the two foreign men climbing the warning tower and screaming out loud in exhilaration at their audacity.
The Thai woman, Ameeroon Luebasani, a staff member of a nearby shopping mall says that she saw two foreign women and two foreign men walking out of an entertainment venue in an intoxicated state
As they arrived at the tower, the two men proceeded to climb approximately 5 meters while the two women cheered them on.
According to Ameeroon, as police officers approached the scene on their motorcycles the foreign women demanded the two men come down. The men rushed down and quickly left the scene. Luckily, no one sustained any injuries during this incident and no damage was done to the tower.
Ameeroon stated that she did not get angry at the foreigners, but she was concerned about the image of Krabi province if an accident occurred. She speculated that people would blame the local community for failing to ensure the safety of their foreign visitors.
Other residents also condemned the two foreigners for their inappropriate behaviour.
In January, a foreign man faced punishment from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation for his climbing antics. In this case, the foreign man did not climb a tower in the city but he did climb a limestone cliff in the province without safety equipment.
The Chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Teekhawut Sriburin, stated that foreigners getting into trouble is damaging to the kingdom’s image which could negatively impact the tourism industry. He stated that the department punished the foreign man although details of the charge were not disclosed.
