Man killed white water rafting Dalaman

[Jacqui Harvey]

I see in our local evening paper a local Scottish couple where amongst 8 people thrown from a raft near Dalaman whilst white water rafting.  One man was killed. He was 66 years old and apparently only people up to 65 are allowed on these trips... Wonder how this will square with the Company's Insurance?   Go to  http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1441554
Jacqui.

[Rimms]

Bloody hell, I saw Tinx at the car boot sale a couple of weeks ago and he told me how good it was, so Chris and I went last week.

It was brilliant and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone, however, you do have to be fit and a confident swimmer because it is certain you will end up in the rapids at some point.

We really feel sorry for the poor man, this was probably one of those freak accidents.

[Jacqui Harvey]

There is a lot more about it in the paper. The Aberdeen couple were really scared and asked the guy to turn back, but he would not. The water was very high and choppy and they said it was dirty. Two of the party were none swimmers.  The guide told them not to panic and they would be fine. The boat turned over and the woman was trapped under the boat, she was lucky that she got free.  The Welsh guy was not so lucky.
The Company involved are called Kano Activities.  The co-owner Mr.Samur said "The river is very wild and dangerous, You don't have to be experience, but you have to be fit without health problems".
One trip I will not be taking any time soon.
Jacqui.

[tinkerman]

It is indeed a great day out, you do have to sign forms before you commence any activity to say you are fit and not suffering with any problems, There is good safety teaching beforehand and safety equipment supplied, hard hat and life jacket.

100's of people do this everyweek, I've not heard of anyone else coming to grief but like most sports of this nature you will get the odd one happen as you do at Olu Deniz with the Paragliding.

As for turning back it cant happen you are in a raft going down a river that has just been released from a dam, we did have medics on the banks all the way down and yes the boats do turn over its all part of the ride,thats what white water rafting is.

Condolences to the family of the man who died:(

Glad you enjoyed it George:D I personally would do it again.

Andy

Glad you enjoyed it George:D

[albaman]

Having done this trip twice & a few rivers in Scotland I very much agree with what Andy (Tinkerman) has said.

You should be reasonably fit & a confident swimmer if you plan to go rafting.

Unfortunately, accidents happen, you could be killed crossing the road!

If capsising in the raft worries you, don't go rafting!, you WILL capsise, it is part of the experience. In my opinion, if the raft guides instructions are followed then the risk is minimal. One of the most important safety issues is that if you end up in the river, (& you will) do not try to swim but instead, lie on your back with your feet pointing downstream. It is far better to bounce off rocks with your feet than with your head!

My condolences  goto the deceased person's friends & family.

I look forward to rafting Dalaman river again next year.

[Jacqui Harvey]

The couple involved in this raft tragedy are home in Aberdeen and in the local papers this evening.  Apparently, they wanted to cut their holiday short, but they discovered they were not insured for the raft trip, which they booked in Marmaris.   The local paper stepped in and contacted the holiday company who flew them home early.  The holiday company Low Cost Holidays got a good write up from the couple as did the Turkish people who have helped them.

[Sillybilly]

Having done this for the first time in September with Albaman I thought it was a brilliant experience and would recommend it even if you only do it once.

I agree that you need to be a confident swimmer as it is definately not for the feint hearted.

The guys in charge were first class with the safety instructions they gave you.

As Albaman says "if capsising the raft worries you don't go rafting".

I also look forward to rafting Dalaman again next year.

Billy

[Jacqui Harvey]

Quite right, Sillybilly, if you enjoy something you should do it, however, the couple involved in the accident found out their holiday insurance would not cover them coming home early because they did not have extra cover for dangerous sport, they were lucky our local paper helped them come home.  It might be a good idea to ask your Holiday Insurance Company to include cover for Dangerous Sports just in case.
Jacqui.