Paramotor accident on Chon Buri seriously injures foreign teenager and Thai instructor

A paramotor accident on the island of Koh Larn, in the eastern province of Chon Buri, has left a teenage foreign tourist and her Thai instructor seriously injured. According to a Pattaya News report, the incident occurred yesterday afternoon when the device became stuck in a power pole as the Thai man and his 17 year old student were flying. Both of them sustained serious injuries caused by electric shock.

According to the report, Pattaya Tourist Police were notified of the accident at around 4pm and travelled to Koh Larn by speed boat. Officers instructed the local electricity authority to shut off the power and emergency responders were called.

Rescue workers found the paramotor device tangled in wires on a power pole and the rooftop of a nearby business. It’s understood both the instructor and the teenage girl, whose names have not been released, have been seriously injured in the incident. Both were rescued and transported to a hospital in Pattaya by speedboat.

According to the Pattaya News report, the teenage girl is a foreign tourist who was learning to fly the paramotor device. A witness reported strong gusts of wind that drove the device onto the power pole, where it became stuck, causing both passengers to sustain an electric shock.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News