lemhoy crash
Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:31:30 -0800 by samuirescue

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!December 27th, around 5.15pm. I was visiting my wife at The Firework Shop in LemHoy, Bantai, when I heard the unmistakable sounds of a car crashing. It was only a hundred metres or so from the firework shop, so I grabbed my medical bag (it goes everywhere with me!) and ran to the scene, calling it in over the radio to our headquarters in Nathon, as well our 'local' headquarters in Maenam (a formality, as they will have heard the call to Nathon, but a formality non-the-less). The noise of the crash had brought people out of their homes, making the whole scene very dangerous, it being on a main road at a very busy time. Looking at the car I expected the worst... the driver had lost control at some speed, crossed to the other side of the road (somehow managing to avoid a head-on crash with the oncoming traffic!), and had mounted a slight rise on the side of the road, which had spun the car around, hitting both a tree and a rather large half-buried lump of concrete in the process (WHICH SPUN HIM BACK AROUND!), before landing in a ditch.When I got to the car I could see that the driver was in a semi-sitting position in the passenger's seat, with both of his legs wrapped around the gear-stick (his right leg was also trapped under the central hand-brake. He looked semi-concious, but I could smell the beer long before noticing the numerous empty beer-cans strewn about the floor of the cab! He seemed to be breathing reasonably well, so I began checking to see if his legs were broken or not, and whether he had any other obvious serious injuries. Amazingly, there didn't seem anything obviously broken! He had a few lacerations and abrasions, but wasn't bleeding severely, so I decided to wait for my colleagues to help get him out of the car and treat his relatively superficial wounds on the way to the hospital.My colleagues arrived only a minute or so after the accident happened, and, whilst some immediately started controlling the busy traffic, others came to help extricate the man from what was left of his car. We don't have a 'K.E.D.' (a very stiff body bodice which protects the victim's body during extracation... they are very expensive... anyone want to help us by sponsoring the cost of one? Pretty please!?), anyway, we fitted a collar, but the chap 'came-to' a bit and started struggling in his confusion. Although in a great deal of pain, we managed eventually to get him out and onto a body-board, and then into the Rescue Ambulance. The video really starts from this point... I was a bit too busy up until this point to take video! :)Turns out that the man was indeed quite drunk, and had lost control of his car (actually it was a local government car! I imagine he will have some serious problems with his bosses!). How he didn't kill himself, or worse... someone else, is beyond me! DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!

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xmascrash1
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:26:24 -0800 by samuirescue

Christmas Eve, approx 9.00pm. We were on 'stand-by' when 3 calls came in at the same time... one was in Bantai, to the west (the right) of us... the other two were to the east (the left) of us. Firstly we needed to clarify which units were going to which calls, and then clarify some confusion as to whether the 2 calls to the east of us were, infact, the same accident, but called in incorrectly (the information for both calls in the east seemed identical) - and if so, which of the 2 sois (roads) the accident was actually in! Once we clarified that we would indeed be going to the call(s) in the east, we scrambled into the car (after a rather frustrating minute or so clarifying things). The slight delay whilst we were in the car is due to me checking that we had double all we needed (incase it actually was 2 accidents), and checking that the 2 guys in the back of the car were safely inside. We decided on the taking the extra 2 guys incase they were needed on the (possible) other call to the east. You can hear Chet (driver/partner) on the radio trying to clarify whether the accident is in 'Soi Nung' (road 1), or 'Soy Sahm' (road 3), or infact BOTH Sois during the trip. We eventually got clarification that it was only 1 accident, and it was a kilometre or so up Soi Sahm (3), Maenam. The clarification came as we were only 100 metres or so before the Soi!The young man had (according to friends) drunk rather a lot of beer, and crashed on his way to another bar! He was unconcious when we reached him, with fairly severe mouth injuries. You can see 2 of the younger 'Rescue' staff in action here (both as qualified and as experienced as Chet and myself)... both are 15 years old, and are valuable members of the Maenam Team. They ensured the victim's airways were clean and clear, and covered the open wounds whilst we waited for the Maenam Rescue Ambulance to arrive (approx 2 mins after our arrival). The young man was then whisked off to hospital in Nathon, whilst we returned to stand-by at Chet's shop.

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WARNING-SOME GRAPHIC CONTENT! Picture Montage
Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:32:41 -0800 by samuirescue

Warning! Some slightly graphic pictures... do not watch if you are easily upset by seeing blood and/or injury!!! This is a short slideshow montage of stills taken at various accident sites around our area (Maenam, Bantai, BoPhut, By Leam etc). If nothing else, it shows just how vulnerable we are to injury on a motorbike... the cars get away with a dent or two (or three), while the bike rider ends up (more often than not) seriously injured or worse... dead. ALL of these accidents resulted in serious injury or death... most involved alcohol, and all riders except one DIDN'T wear a helmet! The chap who did was seriously injured but recovered after a long period in hospital... in his case his helmet DID save his life...although in some of the incidents a helmet would not have changed the outcome.

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WARNING-GRAPHIC CONTENT OF SHOOTING/DEATH
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:54:31 -0800 by samuirescue

I have debated long and hard about putting this video up... it is quite graphic and shocking... but if it educates one young 'gun-toting teenager' to leave his gun at home, then maybe it is worth it. Please don't flag this video... it just might shock someone enough to change them!Samui Rescue teams from Maenam, Lamai, and Nathon, all gathered at an open-air gig of a famous Thai band in Nathon, Koh Samui. The band is very popular, and a few thousand people were expected to come to the free show next to the Ferry Terminal. It was a carnival atmosphere, and everyone was enjoying the music, and - up to that point, the most that 'Rescue' staff had to deal with were a few very drunk people, and the directing of the hundreds of cars and pick-ups that were all blocking the approach roads trying to find a parking space!About a dozen of us were standing together, enjoying the show, when - not 10 metres from us - 4 shots rang out. Everyone dived for cover and panic and screaming followed. A group of friends had quarrelled, and, rather the worse for beer, one young man pulled out a gun and shot his friend four times, before running away.There were uniformed and under-cover police all over the scene, and they quickly ascertained it was safe for us to attent to the victim, as the gunman had left the scene (he was picked-up some time later). The victim (a young man) was unconcious, but still breathing as we got him into the nearest Rescue ambulance for the 5 minute trip to the hospital in Nathon. He stopped breathing shortly after getting him into the ambulance, and a colleage (the guy in the EMS safety vest standing next to the victim in the hospital) and I gave C.P.R./Mouth-2-Mouth all the way to the hospital whilst also trying to stem the heavy bleeding from the gun-shot wounds to his chest... Things looked very grim indeed. Although Rescue and hospital staff tried desperately to keep him alive, unfortunately he was too badly injured, and died some 10 minutes after reaching the hospital. Even we (Rescue staff) were shocked at this happening so close to us (as were the hundreds of others attending the event). In fact you can see the shock and concern on the Rescue staff's faces... all hoping he would survive. We (Rescue staff) have seen many things... stuff that I don't think would be acceptable on YouTube... and we have been involved in many traumatic and gory accident scenes... but a public shooting is (fortunately) such a rare thing on Samui, that even we were shocked by this... not only the shooting itself... but the utter pointlessness of it (an argument over a girl we later found out). Such a waste of a young life. I detest the modern 'gun-culture' and Macho bullshit that goes along with it... you don't need more than 1 brain cell to pull a trigger... any idiot can do that. I see enough pointless death on the roads through stupidity, recklessness and alcohol... but, for some reason... the death of this young man seemed even more pointless. GUNS KILL PEOPLE!!! (Stuff that pathetic argument that it is not guns, but PEOPLE who kill people!)... Sorry for the emotion here... but this incident got to us all. Thanx... alan

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DON'T DRINK&RIDE!. WARNING-GRAPHIC PICTURES
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:54:43 -0800 by samuirescue

A young lad (19yrs) visits his friends and has a few beers too many befor riding home on his expensively modified Honda 125... with the almost inevitable results! He wanders over the white line and clips a pick-up coming the other way. He was unconcious but alive when we reached the scene, but had serious head injuries and multiple lacerations and abrasions. He regained conciousness a litlle as we were transferring him to the spinal board, and, confused and disorientated, started struggling and fighting with us. We eventually managed to get him strapped to the spinal board and get him to the hospital in Nathon. He has a good chance of surviving, but we don't know at this stage how well he will recover from his head injuries. Again... NO HELMET! WEAR A HELMET IN THAILAND, AND DON'T DRINK AND RIDE!!!

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Pick-up - 9 people on the back, hits another pick-up head-on
Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:49:34 -0800 by samuirescue

A pick-up with 9 people sitting in the back was hit head-on by another pick-up which turned onto the main road but inexplicably turned to face the oncoming pick-up (which was on the correct side of the road). Amazingly no-one was killed, and the worst injuries were a broken wrist, a deeply gashed foot, lots of concussed (and shocked!) people, and a couple with internal bruising. When we got the call, we expected carnage, and we were all happy at the relatively low-level injuries. It was fantastic to see all the Rescue guys (and gals!) working so tightly as a team... every single person helping is a 'self-funded' volunteer that gives his/her time freely to help those in need. I feel honoured to work beside these people, and I personally think they are all heroes. Most of this incident I spent helping my colleagues, but managed to snatch a bit of video and some pics when it was obvious that things were under control. My primary aim is (as per every other 'Rescue' member) to help those in need... my second function is as a recorder... both for 'Rescue' and Police records. I must admit to feeling a bit sorry for the injured, who were all labourers (building sites etc) and tend to live a life pretty close to poverty. The fact that some of them won't be able to work for a couple of weeks (or, in some cases, a couple of months) will badly effect their standard of living, and make life very difficult for them. The driver who caused the accident may not be in a position to pay any reasonable levels of compensation (which is normal), but I am hoping their company will help a bit too.

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Snake Rescue!! 3 metre Python gets trapped, and released!
Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:01:02 -0800 by samuirescue

Samui Rescue gets involved in a lot of strange things!!! This time it was a 6 am Sunday morning call from a terrified family that found a rather large snake trapped in the mesh fence surrounding their small chicken farm! The snake managed to get in... eat a small chick... but was too big to get out! The poor thing must have been there for hours, as it was very tired and distressed... fortunately the Thai owners - although terrified - felt so sorry for the snake that they couldn't kill it. A very lucky snake indeed as most Thais wouldn't think twice about killing a snake like this... apparantly they are VERY tasty... particularly barbequed! Anyway... as my partner Chet owns a local pet-shop, and is foremost a member of Samui Rescue (paramedic/Emergency Service), he seemed the most obvious person to call to these folks. Unfortunately, Chet is not too keen on snakes, and decided that I was the better person to release it, while he stayed behind the camera! lol You can hear him ask (as I free the snakes head) 'Mr. Alan, Gat mai?' ('Are you sure it won't bite Alan?')... I reply that it won't as it is too tired! (Mai gat Pi-Chet.. ner-rai mak!). After 6 hours or so it was fine enough to be released into the jungle on the mountain. I hope it thrives... it was a wonderful example of a Reticulated Python, and it was great to be a part in 'rescueing' it! lol Sometimes it really is almost a pleasure working with Samui Rescue! :)

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VIDEO 3 - 'Take-A-Jaahd' - The food distribution video!
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:37:31 -0700 by samuirescue

A party atmosphere in which over 500 people queued for the opening of the gates of 'Take-A-Jaahd'... youngsters got their own parcels of goodies, which had a few more 'sweetie' type foods than the adult packs! I think the whole event can be summed-up by the last picture.... no embarrassment... just a big 'Thank-You' to those who cared enough to help. Free food (Top-notch Thai meals, were available throughout the day to those who were waiting.

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VIDEO 2 - 'Take-A-Jaahd' - Collecting the food 2 weeks after the first video!
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:33:57 -0700 by samuirescue

This video shows the best of Thai people giving food to help the poorest of families that live on Koh Samui... I salute them all!!! Again, this is the Maenam Team (with a smattering of others from the other teams of Samui Rescue on Samui) collecting food for 'Take-A-Jaahd'. The food is a mixture of dried stuff including rice (the staple diet of Thais), noodles, tinned foods (fish, shellfish etc), water, and kid's treats.

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VIDEO 1 - 'Take-A-Jaahd' - Food collection/distribution for the poor o
Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:59:46 -0700 by samuirescue

Once each year Samui Rescue (as well as it's Paramedic/Emergency Response duties) organises a collection for food for the poorest families that live on Koh Samui. The Thai Rescue concept was started many years ago by a Chinese Monk (who is now highly revered among Rescue Volunteers), and his concept included not only physical and health help for those who would ordinarily not be able to recieve it, but help in other areas of life too. One of those 'other' areas includes helping those who struggle on a day-to-day basis with the most fundemental things that we may well take for granted... ie: food. Samui Rescue's annual 'Take-a-Jaahd' (a chinese term, but I have used phonetics) is well recognised now, as is the other Rescue's efforts all over Thailand. The first video is of the Maenam Team (plus others from the Nathon Team) handing-out leaflets to make people aware of the collection in 2 weeks time. If you want to see the best of Thai folk, the next 2 videos will show just how readily Thai people adhere to the Buddhist philosophy of 'improving your own life by improving the life of others' (my interpretation!). The Samui Rescue staff are all proud to take part in this annual tradition... and I was equally proud to be a part of it. The Team walked somewhere in the region of 18/20 kilometers this day... in heat reaching 30+ degrees! Please watch all 3 videos, and 'star' them, so I can show these guys that the rest of the world thinks they are the best too!!! Thanx.... alan

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Motorbike hits dog... !
Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:38:40 -0700 by samuirescue

I love dogs... I have had dogs all of my life, and currently have 2 at our home on Samui... BUT... Samui has too many dogs wandering around. A lot of them are in a terrible state, belong to no-one, and are a nuisance and a hazard to road users and pedestrians alike. This time the results weren't too serious (for the human!... the dog died, so won't be causing any more accidents!), but there are many incidents involving motorbikes hitting stray dogs on the road, and causing accidents where people are hurt (sometimes even killed). Cars obviously arn't affected in the same way as bikes... although drivers swerving to avoid hitting stray dogs, and ending up causing an accident involving themselves or others, does happen too.This young man hit a dog that ran out in front of him. When we got to him he was plainly concussed (no helmet!), but had only one obvious injury... a deep cut on his chin. Any knock to the head could be serious, and the fact that he was concussed showed that he must have had quite a knock. In the ambulance he started to 'come-round' a bit, and explained that (fortunately) he was only going about 30 KPH when the dog ran out in front of him. End result? 6 stitches to his chin, a trip to the dentist to fix a broken tooth, mild concussion (and a big headache!)... and one less stray dog on Samui.

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Crazy driving! 2 pick-ups, head-on on the mountain.
Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:40:02 -0700 by samuirescue

11pm at night... going up one side of the mountain is a pick-up, overtaking a pick-up, which is overtaking a motorbike with sidecar... coming up the other side is a pick-up, overtaking another pick-up. Crazy overtaking is a common feature on the mountain, even though the top of the mountain is blind... you can't see what is coming up the other side. This time the results were inevitable and obvious. The 2 craziest pick-ups hit each other head-on... the pick-up overtaking the motorbike and sidecar - in an attempt to avoid the obvious impending collision, swung to the left, sideswiping the motorbike in the process, and knocking it off the road into the deep water-channel that runs along-side. In the sidecar of the motorbike were 2 young kids (8/9 years old). One of the pick-up drivers had been drinking. The resultant carnage blocked the road for close to an hour, but, amazingly, the only injury was a slight cut to the right eyelid of one of the pick-up drivers... caused by the car's airbag pushing him against the door pillar! Incredible! Even the kids were unscathed... although they were shocked and scared a bit! When the mother of the kids found out that one the drivers was drunk, she started verbally lambasting him! The police took both drivers away. An amazing escape for all concerned.

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Drunk motorbike rider crashes, hospitalised.
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:56:15 -0700 by samuirescue

There is no doubt that the guy had been drinking heavily, we could all smell the alcohol. Witnesses say he simply lost control and crashed, nobody else was involved. Initially we thought it was simply a lacerated scalp that would need stitching at the hospital, however, once in the car, after cleaning the head wound, we realised it could well be more serious. Head injuries always have the potential to be very serious, and the scalp injury to this guy was a lot bigger than we first thought, which indicated a very substantial trauma injury indeed, with the distinct possibility of a skull fracture. On the way to hospital the drunken guys mumbling became more incoherent, he was beginning to go into shock. He was losing a lot blood (which was difficult to stem as he started to struggle and thrash around) and his breathing became more erratic. We managed to get the oxygen mask on him and eventually he calmed down enough for us to treat the more superficial injuries to his arms and legs before we got to Samui hospital. End result... fractured skull 30+ stitches, split lip, abrasions and a couple of lacerations on each leg... 2 weeks in hospital.. and a full recovery. Oh by the way... the 'chubby' rescue guy was on his very first call-out as an observer only - which is why he may seem not to help much. At the time of writing this, he has now been on the job for just over 4 months, and is a valued member of our team in Maenam.

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2 bike crash in Maenam - both riders hospitalised
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:31:19 -0700 by samuirescue

Nobody really knows what happened here... both riders are blaming each other! What is certain is that both the young ladies faces wil be scarred for life... neither were wearing helmets and both were very lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries... mainly to joints (elbows, knees and hips) and their faces (both were very badly 'road-rashed'). All that is known is that they were both travelling, at speed, very close to each other, just before the incident. Both girls spent time in hospital, but fully recovered from their injuries... physically if not cosmetically!

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Don't wait in the middle of the road when turning right!
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:48:09 -0700 by samuirescue

This off-duty policeman and his friend riding pillion were indicating and waiting in the middle of the road for a gap in the traffic so they could turn right (actually down the soi where I live). A car some 4/5 cars behind them decided they didn't want to wait in the slow traffic, and the driver pulled out to overtake everything in front of her. This took her down the middle of the road, during busy 2-way traffic, and straight into the back of the waiting bikers (who were 'pushed' close to 10 metres up the road). How these guys didn't get run-over by on-coming traffic is a miracle in itself!I heard the impact from my garden, and so managed to be on-scene very quickly, radioing to my colleagues on stand-by at Maenam Rescue for the nearby ambulance as well as back-up to control the now stationary traffic (something else we tend to find ourselves doing... at least until the vehicles are removed). Needless to say that the police were not happy with the driver of the car when they arrived on-scene! Both rider and passenger suffered relatively minor injuries... lacerations and abrasions to legs, arms, and hips etc... both were wearing helmets. 2 lucky guys! The driver of the car was not happy when the police impounded her car pending investigations. She seemed to think it wasn't her fault.

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Bike rear-ends stationary pick-up... one boy dies.
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:57:34 -0700 by samuirescue

The pick-up was parked up properly at the side of the road. 2 young teenagers were riding way too fast, cutting up cars on both the inside and outside... the rider mis-judged this 'inside' move, and hit the back of the parked pick-up at approx 50 KPH. Both the rider and his passenger were very seriously injured (neither wore helmets), and both were unconsious/comatose when we arrived at the scene some 3/4 minutes after impact. Despite our best efforts - involving both CPR and 'mouth-to-mouth', the passenger died on the way to hospital. We managed to keep the rider alive until we got to hospital, however, we now understand that he is currently in a coma (at time of writing... 2 weeks after the incident)and suffering from multiple fractures and serious internal injuries. The outlook for him is grim, and he is not expected to live for much longer due to multiple organ failure. A very sad waste of 2 young lives... and for what?

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Drunk driver loses control, hits motorbike, kills rider.
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:54:34 -0700 by samuirescue

WARNING... THIS VIDEO CONTAINS A FEW MILDLY GRAPHIC PICTURES!!! The main road in Bantai has quite a nasty bend, and is notorious for being the site of many accidents. It was around midnight when the driver of the pick-up (who had been drinking heavily) lost control of his car on this infamous bend - ending up on the wrong side of the road and smashing head-on into a motorbike ridden by a Thai Mum with her teenage son riding pillion. There was nowhere for the motorbike to go to avoid a collision. They were hit and then pushed some 10/15 metres by the car before it ploughed into a tree on the wrong side of the road and came to a halt... just outside a nursery. The Mum was killed almost instantly... the son suffered serious internal injuries and numerous broken bones, but eventually made a full recovery (physically anyway). Samui Rescue treated and transported the boy to hospital, with the remaining team members heping to move the car to free the body of the Mum (one of her arms was trapped under the front wheel of the car). We then took her body to the hospital morgue. The driver was arrested and taken away by police.

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Pick-up truck hits motorbike Head-on.
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:58:34 -0700 by samuirescue

There were 5 of us on 'Stand-By' at Chet's Pet Shop on the main road close to Napalarn, Maenam... it was just after midnight, and Chet had just made us all a round of coffee when we heard the unmistakeable sound of a motorbike being hit head-on by a car and pushed along the road. It was incredibly loud, as it happenned less than 10 metres from where we stood, and we all jumped and spilt our coffee with the shock of the noise. I have heard this sound 3 times now, and the only word to describe is 'sickening'. We all rushed the few metres to where the body of the bike-rider was slumped... half on and half off the pavement on our side of the road (they drive on the left here, the same as England). We expected the worst, but were shocked to see that not only was the guy still breathing, but he was consious and still fairly 'with it'! He was shaking with shock, and had an obviously broken leg, as well as numerous lacerations/superfic ial grazes etc. The car that hit him tried to 'do a runner' (unfortunately fairly common these days, particularly at night), but one of the front wheels was so badly damaged (and the tyre flat), that he only made it a couple of hundred metres before having to stop. The bike rider started drifting in and out of consiousness, and we treated his injuries as best we could and made him as comfortable as possible. We applied a neck collar, covered the obvious cuts and abrasions, protected his leg, and ensured his airways were kept clear (which was a bit of a problem as his face/jaw had also suffered impact injuries). It was highly likely that the guy also had serious internal injuies, so we had to get him to hospital fast. Fortunately we had a reasonably equipped Ambulance on stand-by only 2 minutes away (we don't have a fully equipped ambulance at Maenam.. we don't attract the big sponsers the same as the other teams... and this one was on loan from Lamai. Normally we have only 2 'estate' cars with a body-board as transport). The ambulance arrived very quickly - driven by 'YNR', and the now unconsious guy was whisked away to Samui hospital in Nathon, some 15 minutes away. Bandon hospital is closer - in Chawaeng - but won't treat people unless they have insurance, so we didn't want to risk wasting precious time taking the guy to Chawaeng, only to then have to take him on another trip to Samui hospital... with potential life-threatening injuries, correct treatment within the first 60 minutes is crucial, and can mean the difference between life and death. Samui hospital treats everyone - and, if you havn't got insurance, is 1000% cheaper than Bandon, and therefore more affordable to the 'less rich'!The police arrived on the scene as the guy was being whisked away... they were not happy with the driver of the pick-up (who had also - allegedly - been drinking)... he was arrested and taken away.How did it happen? The pick-up was overtaking another pick-up, which was itself overtaking a motorbike and sidecar! This took the speeding pick-up only a couple of feet from the kerb on the opposite side of the road (our side... the side of the motorbike that was hit). The motorbike that was hit had nowhere to go, and was hit almost head-on. The bike rider (amazingly) eventually made a full recovery, and, some 2 months later, came back to thank us... very touching. He is a very (VERY) lucky man indeed, and we still talk about how incredible it was that he survived. There is no doubt that his helmet saved his life that night - just look at the remains of it in the pictures!

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WATCH THIS VIDEO FIRST! Koh Samui Paramedic/Emergency Rescue - Maenam Team
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:38:28 -0700 by samuirescue

Koh Samui doesn't have a 'public' Ambulance/Emergency service. Instead it has 'Samui Rescue'... consisting of approx 60 trained volunteers split into 4 teams the island... one in Lamai, one in Nathon, one in By-Laem, and the team I work with, based in Maenam. This site is dedicated to all of the Samui Rescue volunteers, who freely give up their time - most putting themselves on 24/7 'stand-by' - even though they have jobs and families! Samui Rescue is the original (and FREE) 'Rescue' service on Samui, and has been going for over 20 years, helping people where, and whenever needed. These guys are always first on the scene of any accident or incident... treating and transporting the injured to hospital (Thai AND holiday-makers!), removing the dead (something that occurs far too frequently), and/or clearing up the bits of body-parts that are left. Ask any one of them why they do this, and they will say '... someone has to, and if we don't, who will?' They are amazing people and represent the very best of Thailand, with each and every one paying for their own equipment, expenses, clothing, and, in some cases, even the diesel for their vehicles!As well as the more 'dirty' work, Samui Rescue also respond as hospital transport for the sick, elderly, or just plain drunk! (VERY common... particularly with holiday-makers!). The videos posted on this site show some of the situations that the MAENAM TEAM have been involved in. They are here as a warning to visitors... accidents are a daily event here. I have deliberately left out the more 'gory' pictures and videos out of respect to those involved. 90% of the daily accidents on Samui involve motorbikes... SO... DON'T rent a motorbike here unless you are an EXPERIENCED rider... and, if you do rent a bike, WEAR A HELMET!!! If you want to know more about Samui/Thailand before you come on holiday, buy and read 'The Ultimate Survival Guide To Thailand' (Amazon.com) and read the section on 'Renting a Motorbike and/or Car in Thailand' (book written by yours truly!) It may just save your life! (or, at the very least... your wallet!). THE PEOPLE IN THIS VIDEO ARE MEMBERS OF THE MAENAM TEAM... I am proud and honoured to work alongside them.

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