Australia's fatal deceptions claim thousands of tourists lives
Pastor Dale Morgan
*
*Australia's fatal deceptions claim thousands of tourists lives*
· Tides, heat, wildlife and roads kill 2,433 in 7 years
· Visitors are unaware of Oz's dangers, say rangers
* Barbara McMahon in Sydney,
* The Guardian
* Tuesday February 6 2007
Australia is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world
but its beaches, rainforests and deserts can take a deadly toll on
tourists. According to official statistics, 2,433 overseas visitors,
including 25 children, have died in the last seven years. Causes of
death include drowning, heat stroke and even a jellyfish sting.
The figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the
National Coroners Information System suggest many tourists are taken
unaware by the country's harsh natural environment or die during
recreational activities.
Between 2003 and 2005, seven visitors to the country died while scuba
diving or snorkelling, two died while hiking, one died while
paragliding, another died on a parachute jump, three people lost their
lives on fishing expeditions and two died after games of tennis and golf.
Heat stroke claimed the lives of three tourists while 65 were killed in
car crashes and six people died in falls. A further 276 deaths in the
same period were attributed to natural causes.
Australia's idyllic beaches also hold hidden dangers. Among the drowning
fatalities over the past seven years were eight children aged under 10
on holiday with their families while a further 17 victims aged between
10 and 19 were also pulled dead from the water.
Sean O'Connell, a spokesman for one of Sydney's lifeguard organisations,
said tourists flock to beaches without realising the dangers and
suggested people on flights to Australia should be informed about
dangerous sea currents.
"You could conceivably hop off a plane, go to your backpackers' hostel,
hop on the bus and be swimming at Bondi within four hours, and there is
this terrible rip [tide] you wouldn't even know about," he told the
Sydney Daily Telegraph. "In some cases the rip appears to be the calmest
part of the water."
With at least one tourist dying after a jellyfish sting and others
injured by animal bites, visitors are also being warned to admire
Australia's wildlife from a distance.
Ranger Craig Adams of the Australian Reptile Park said crocodiles can
hide in a few centimetres of water and pounce without warning. "People
don't realise a koala will give you a nasty bite or carve you up with
its claws," he said. "A wombat can knock you over."
More than five million people visit Australia every year, among them
800,000 British visitors, and most go home without injury.
During the last fortnight, however, there have been two shark attacks,
while last weekend hundreds of swimmers on three of Perth's most popular
beaches were warned to leave the water after a two-metre-long shark was
spotted near the shore.
In another incident, a 25-year-old man was airlifted to hospital for
multiple bluebottle jellyfish stings. He was treated and later released.
In an editorial, the Sydney Morning Telegraph described the tourist
fatalities - and those of Australians who have died - "the price paid
for a country where nature has not been totally cowed by human development".
British victims
2004 Clare Barnes, 24, died when her parachute failed to open.
2003 Thomas Sykes, 35, a Londoner, broke down in the Great Sandy Desert
in Western Australia and died walking 34 miles in 42C (108F) heat to
seek help. He died near a town.
2002 Richard Jordan, 58, from Yorkshire, died after being stung by the
irukandji jellyfish.
2000 Jason Walsh, 28, a backpacker from Cornwall, died in a car crash in
northern Queensland. Four other British travellers were also injured.