dragonboat tragedy - findings

last SG · 2008-06-01T23:33:18+00:00

responsibility and accountability starts from YOURSELF.. you should know that..

balance_else_complacent SG

The findings is tho there are sub optimal decisions made, no one WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

jointly between the pore boaters and organisers, the decision was not to wear the safety life jackets.

the boat capsized and the boaters hit tragedy.

The Safety inquiry outcome - NO ONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

there u have it.

I beginning to get used ....to ......

FireIce SG

No single factor responsible for dragon boat tragedy
By Hasnita A Majid/Lynda Hong Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 30 May 2008 1909 hrs

SINGAPORE : The dragon boat tragedy in Cambodia last November that left five Singaporeans dead, was due to, among others, the following reasons - unfamiliarity with race conditions, low safety awareness and lack of preparations.

These are the findings of a safety inquiry panel which was formed to look into the incident.

The panel revealed its findings on Friday.

The tragedy took place at the Tonle Sap River.

The Singapore Dragon Boat Team was one of 19 teams taking part in the annual Cambodian Water Festival.

Their boat capsized as they were rowing back to the docking point, after it was hit by a current.

Twenty-two team members were thrown into the waters but only 17 surfaced.

The bodies of the other five were recovered a few days later.

The Safety Inquiry Panel said the Singapore team was unfamiliar with the race conditions.

The river current was at its strongest as it was at the end of the rainy season, and it was flowing in the reverse direction.

The Singaporeans were also not used to the equipment provided by the Cambodians.

For example, the safety panel of inquiry found that the Singapore Dragon Boat team was not familiar with the traditional boat used in the race.

The one they were used to and accepted internationally has a flat bottom, while the traditional boat had a round bottom and no proper rudder - which is used to steer the boat - hence making it unstable in water.

This caused the two coxswain to steer the boat using their paddles.

The rowers also reported that the freeboard of the boat, which is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, was lower and this caused the boat to take water during practise session and the race.

Another finding is that the Singapore team did not have an established procedure of conducting risk assessments, such as safety briefings and drills.

For example, the Dragon Boat team did not have established safety procedures or drills for contingencies in the water.

They also did not as a habit do a risk assessment prior to the race and most rowers were not aware of a capsize drill.

In fact, most had never experienced a capsized boat before the tragedy.

Preparation for the race was also unsystematic.

The team arrived just a day earlier and had only one training session.

There was a lack of information about the event, the condition of the river and the race site.

Most of the team members, including team officials, were not prepared for the strong currents or the boat.

The panel also concluded that the Cambodian organisers had not followed International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Guidelines.

For example, the life jackets given out to the rowers were bulky and not designed for competitive racing.

So the rowers decided to junk them as they were told that it was "optional".

The paddles issued were also of non-standard size - some were longer than others. Overall, the rowers found the paddles heavier than usual.

Bernard Tan, Chairman, Safety Inquiry Panel, said, "I think the greater tragedy is if we allow a tragedy like that to happen again, and that's why we put forward recommendations to ensure that this events will not reoccur."

And a key suggestion is that the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA) and its affiliates only take part in races that comply with international guidelines.

In instances where the guidelines are not met, then the Association and the team manager must assess if the team should still compete.

They must also assess what measures must be adopted to mitigate the risk of participation.

The panel also wants the Association to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of key team members - including the team manager, coach, coxswain and captain.

This will help to ensure who is responsible in making a risk assessment, before a race.

The SDBA and its affiliates should also check the compliance of its teams to the IDBF Water Safety Policy and the Safety Standing Procedures for dragon boat clubs.

This includes ensuring that all dragon boat rowers are strong swimmers.

The panel also recommends that the SDBA put in place a proper system in preparation for races.

For example, for teams sports, members must be exposed to high-level competitions on a consistent basis.

The panel hopes that the recommendations will be accepted and implemented within six months.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) has said it will work closely with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association to ensure that the panel's recommendations are implemented quickly for the safety of everyone involved in dragon boating.

It added that it hopes this report will at least help the families affected by this incident to close a chapter on the tragic episode that has touched so many people in Singapore.

The SSC said the panel spent a significant amount of time reviewing the statements and relevant information collected from witnesses, participants and other parties in order to present a thorough and comprehensive report .

SSC believes that the panel has done a thorough job in assessing the factors that led to the accident and has made sound recommendations to prevent a similar accident from happening in future.

Meanwhile, responding to the safety inquiry report, the SDBA said it agrees with most of the recommendations made by the panel.

On the issue of life jackets, SDBA said the decision not to put them on had been jointly made by the team. And before the incident, there was indeed, no formalised risk assessment.

After the incident, the Association sent a total of 13 officials, coaches and race officials to attend the first Risk Management Course conducted by the SSC from March 17-20.

Going forward, the team manager will be given a greater say in making decisions.

But SDBA stressed that it will not be holding anyone responsible, because it was a series of factors had led to the tragedy.

Lam Pin Min, Senior Vice President, Singapore Dragon Boat Association, said, "If you look at the entire report and the sequence of events that has led to this accident, a lot of times there were no rules being broken at any point in time. A lot of the decisions that have been made that contributed to the accident were based on judgment calls.

"And on hindsight, some of the decisions that were made then were sub-optimal, as in a combination led to the misfortune happening. So looking at the entire report, we felt that it is not appropriate to pinpoint any particular persons for this accident happening." - CNA/ms

balance_else_complacent SG

sweet dear admina, you no the pator on friday nite ar? me too. lets ....

deathmaster SG

there is always "no one held accountable"...

mas selamat, dragonboat, '07 financial report miscalculation... etc.

eagle SG

Haiyah... you all hor...

Let's move on

Hello Kitty SG

who say mas selamat one dun hv.

rest in peace.

purpledragon84 SG

seriously tell me who u think is accountable then.. they want to don't wear life jacket, who can stop them? arms and legs theirs they dunwan to wear what can the organisers do?

the organisers can prevent them from competing, but once the race end they take off who can say anything?

or u want the query team to come out after so many months of investigations and say "yah we think the boaters deserve to die coz they themselves dun want wear?"

lives have been lost, and to put the blame to anyone will not matter.. not like MSK escape or what..

u want to add on to their close ones misery and find fault and blame ppl, got any use?

preventing such tragedy from happening is more impt.. pls..

oxford mushroom SG

there is always "no one held accountable"...

mas selamat, dragonboat, '07 financial report miscalculation... etc.

ya..someone must be made accountable. Let's sack the organizers and president of the dragon boat racing associations..oh better still, let's cane all of them and ban dragon boat racing altogether. Not enough? why not hang the leaders of the SDBA and drown the team leader in the Singapore River as punsihment? Happy now?

balance_else_complacent SG

You simply wasted the money spent on your education. sad.

Being accountable is not merely about sacking people.

Being accountable, in simplest simpleton's english, means accepting some kind of fault when they are responsible in any minor way in any incident, fiasco etc.

Being responsible and accepting fault in no way dictates that the person must be sacked.

As its clear you have no understanding nor any idea what is RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, I shall educate you in public today, using my precious sunday morning and do your loved ones a favor for you and them.

You are not to be blamed nor responsible nor accountable for your ignorance. A truely world class world record ignorant cannot be at fault. He is pathetic that is all.

Maybe he was never taught the meaning. sad puppy. maybe whatever he does he has never been accountable nor responsible if things goes wrong. maybe no one dares tell him he is wrong. maybe he is given the license to bulldoze everyone. like a street bully who has yet to leave his territory and face big city bullys ? like a frog in a well?

A person can accept responsibility and be accountable simply by being reprimanded in public, or accept a pay cut or bow to the public and show that he acknowledge he is not 100% cleared of the fault.

He can also quit his job, still insisting he is correct 100% pure. this is also being accountable in some way. Yet, on paper and in history books he is still flawless.

He can also get DEMOTED.

He can also get TRANSFERRED out. same pay. same power. and everyone act like he indeed did no wrong. no effect to his bonus and promotion.

He can also say a large MNC wants his talent and has to leave regretably.

He can also migrate.

Thus, I have educated you in public.

Thank me , but I dont care.

redDUST SG

The findings is tho there are sub optimal decisions made, no one WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

jointly between the pore boaters and organisers, the decision was not to wear the safety life jackets.

the boat capsized and the boaters hit tragedy.

The Safety inquiry outcome - NO ONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

there u have it.

I beginning to get used ....to ......

act of god then? baloney.....

rip, the perished paddlers.

eagle SG

let's move on

MohamedF SG

I really don't understand the mind set of some Singaporeans that everytime something wrong happens, must push blame on someone or not happy...

Its a ACCIDENT. A FREAK ACCIDENT. AN ACT OF GOD.

I bet when someone is struck by lightning, some Singaporeans wants to blame HDB for not enough lightning rod or something...

This kind of Childish mindset makes me sick...

balance_else_complacent SG

I really don't understand the mind set of some Singaporeans that everytime something wrong happens, must push blame on someone or not happy...

Its a ACCIDENT. A FREAK ACCIDENT. AN ACT OF GOD.

I bet when someone is struck by lightning, some Singaporeans wants to blame HDB for not enough lightning rod or something...

This kind of Childish mindset makes me sick...

where is the policy that all boaters must 'belt up'?

what is the basic duty of the managers / safety people for the team?

In a water sport like boat race in waters like that, in competition as fierce as that, there is no safety concerns?

then why do bikers need to wear helmets?

why do car users need to belt up else fined?

tell me.

why impose on one and not the other?

why when people dies, others wake up?

Are you saying that another such accident occurs, no one shall also be held accountable in any way?

reply me.

how about if this thing happened to americans or europeans?

Tell this to the parents of the drowned.

Tell this to the rest of the world. Why talk to poreans? who are the uniques? uniquely who?

Absolutely totally no one IS accountable for anything in this matter?

saying is easy. Lets hope this thing never happen to any of you or your lub ones.

tell me you will say the same. tell me. now. if you have conscion.

redDUST SG

I really don't understand the mind set of some Singaporeans that everytime something wrong happens, must push blame on someone or not happy...

Its a ACCIDENT. A FREAK ACCIDENT. AN ACT OF GOD.

I bet when someone is struck by lightning, some Singaporeans wants to blame HDB for not enough lightning rod or something...

This kind of Childish mindset makes me sick...

i think no one can prevent an accident. however, preparation for such eventuality must happen to reduce the risk. this is as simple as belting up when in a car.

i am not sure if the paddlers were briefed about safety measures before the race and also the conditions of the water, which is a known factor.

this is not an act of god. the strong under current in the river is a known fact to those familiar with the river condition. an act of god is not something you can't be totally prepare for, but you can also minimize the chance of it occuring. if there is lightning, would you then stay clear of trees or would you still stand under it?

imo, i think there is some lapses of the singapore officials who leads the peddlers there. can it be prevented? maybe not, but if the peddlers were briefed thoroughly, then at least the duties and responsibilities were properly discharged. to me, the statement below is telling:

Another finding is that the Singapore team did not have an established procedure of conducting risk assessments, such as safety briefings and drills.

but to `brush it aside' and dismiss accountability is wrong. we can all learn from this. mostly, i agree with an earlier post that we should move on from here.

purpledragon84 SG

the incident happened after the race can? after the race what can the organisers do?

of coz it's sad that lives are lost.. and what of what use is holding someone accountable?

u think that it is even on the parents' mind now?

that someone steps up to claim "yes im sorry, i should have forced everyone to wear the jackets"?

and this did not happen in singapore.. this happened in cambodia, which probably doesn't enforce stuff that strictly in the 1st place..

and precisely becoz this shit happened, we must prevent it from happening and set down strict regulations so that it wun happen again.. n IF it happens again, ppl will be held responsible.. yes it is sad that it took 5 lives to learn this fact.. but it's better we learn this fact than not.

and u still haven say leh.. who do YOU think is accountable?

purpledragon84 SG

u know what the sad truth is?

u dun belt up, u pay the fine..

interpret it ur way..

angel7030 SG

u know what the sad truth is?

u dun belt up, u pay the fine..

interpret it ur way..

the sad truth is 5 young bois lost their live, and that make us gal less option in finding young bf

purpledragon84 SG

never thought of it THAT way..

redDUST SG

u know what the sad truth is?

u dun belt up, u pay the fine..

interpret it ur way..

if you don't belt up and got into an accident, you potentially pay with your life.

so, you are happy that it is just `tough luck, shit happens'?

and accountability doesn't mean someone gets the boot; even if the head of the singapore dragon boat association came forward and announced measures and detail revamped guidelines to strengthen safety measures, it is a form of responsibility taken.

your definition of accountability is `childish', even without you stating what it is.

purpledragon84 SG

isn't that what they are going to do? to come up with measures and guidelines?

i think i mentioned that it's no use pointing fingers and is more impt to come up with measures..

but TS on the other hand i duno..