A video shot on Kata Beach in Phuket, Thailand, shows a local parasailing operator accompanying a tourist hundreds of feet into the air—without any safety gear. The operator grabs hold of the ropes behind the passenger as the parasail takes off into the air.
Without a harness, he swings up into the ropes and balances on them in a makeshift seat as the parasail is pulled over the sea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPIf2q6dPU
The footage was filmed by tourist Joshua Singh who told Caters News:
I was sitting on Kata beach with my girlfriend and to the left of us, there were a few tourists talking to some of the local jet-ski operators…The tourist was then harnessed in and attached to the rope with the boat waiting…Next thing I know they both set off and the operator jumped up onto the parachute with the tourist without any harness at all!
The operator can be seen holding on behind the strapped in tourist as the boat pulls the parasail up to 100 metres into the air. On return, the operator then back rolls out of his ‘seat’ and dangles from the parachute to presumably pull the parasail back to land.
But it appears this daredevil stunt wasn’t just a one-off. Apparently, these parasail operators do it all the time. Singh added:
[It] must be crazy to risk your life everyday to give a bunch of tourists a thrill ride, but these guys do this countless times a day and seem so calm and relaxed throughout it.
While the operator’s strength and courage are impressive, the actual act is incredibly stupid. Sadly only this week Australian businessman Roger John Hussey died while parasailing in Phuket. While it’s a popular tourist activity, safety measures are not always strictly enforced in the region and some operators are not officially certified. This was found to be the case in the tragic incident with Hussey.
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