Roatan Zip Line Death (MERGED THREADS)

[nasvhillecruise]

We also did Jungle Canopy two weeks ago and our guide was excellent (and always making certain both cables were attached, I paid close attention to that!!). But I also commented to my DH as we were walking to the zipline beforehand that I was surprised they didn't make you sign a waiver.

 

My heart goes out to this family, how tragic.

 

I think it's only natural this this incident is going to put enough fear into some people that it will prevent them from doing the zipline, similar to Steve Irwin's death.

 

Who was your guide? We had Alex & loved him. We were the only ones there the day we went, which was nice. There was no noise besides us & the jungle and we didn't have to wait on anyone.

[Jeanne B]

I'm sure it will be posted on here soon enough which zipline it was, if it can't be found in an article on the internet someone is bound to contact Victor Bodden or one of the other tour guides and ask the question.

 

Who was your guide? We had Alex & loved him. We were the only ones there the day we went, which was nice. There was no noise besides us & the jungle and we didn't have to wait on anyone.

 

We had Victor himself.:p We had a fantastic day...this was a group cruise we were on so there were 13 of us total and we had SO much fun doing the zipline (and visiting Victors monkeys after lunch was such a great end to the day).

[marcb71a]

We were in Roatan via the Voyager of the Seas, leaving Galveston March 9th. We were on this beach break and the zip line was not included but offered. It was billed as safest in Caribbean.

Was this woman on a cruise?

Which one?

[Nickymjw1]

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_8644772

 

Be careful lon those ziplines in Roatan!!

[BeachBumMama]

Saw this earlier today, a very sad story. There's a little bit more info here...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23730206

[salty dingo]

DW and I did the Zip Line in Roatan. We thought it was very safe. There are actually two complete systems connecting you to the line. The guide unclips one at a time when you change lines, so you are never disconnected from safety at any time.

 

However, as I recall there is just one harness. It fits tight around your waist. The guide was going upside down, etc. and did not have a care in the world. It was all great fun, and I would do it again!

 

Now, the harness is made out of material like a seat belt in a car. That is not going to break - so there must be more to the story. Maybe it was not put on correctly or tightened sufficiently, and she slipped out of it. I guess it would be possible, but sort of like having your pants fall down while walking through town. Probably not going to happen, but it could under the right circumstances.

 

I'm very sorry for the family of the person wh died. I wish them peace at this difficult time.

[silkhair1]

What a horrible thing. I have always heard they were very safe, so I wonder what happened.

[mckinna]

We're leaving tomorrow on the Voyager, and are scheduled to do the ziplines through Victor Bodden tours this week- don't know which line he does. We didn't request a specific line, just left it up to him. I have been very wary of doing this, but my family wanted it, so I'm doing along. Talked with my DH about it, and we will continue on and do the excursion. I'm sure there will be more heightened security measures in place now, at least I hope so.

 

I haven't heard of this type of accicdent with the ziplines before, has anyone else?

[USFcrew]

You guys should be OK, Victor Bodden uses South Shore or Jungle canopy. But of the 2 only South Shore Canopy uses 2 cables 1 for Pulley and 1 for safety clip. This accident is a tragedy but I think they will make better rules and regulations when installing a canopy zip-line.

[Garn]

I just Googled "Zip line accidents", and it looks like there was an incident in a boy scout camp, and another at a religious retreat, both a few years ago. So, there's no question it's not 100% safe, but there are also a lot of "walking down the street" accidents (look at the woman who was hit by a stingray).

 

To me, compared to the number of ziplines in operations, the number of accidents seems fairly small. It's not that I won't check all the gear VERY carefully before doing it, but I still plan on doing it.

 

The tour operators know that their income is based on tourists' comfort level.. while one incident might be able to be overlooked as bad luck, if there's a second, then there's no way they stay in business. I'm thinking they'll do a lot to keep that from happening.

[Seago2]

We were just ziplining in Costa Rica two weeks ago. It does seem fool proof- two lines hooking you to the main line and a third hooking you to the extra line. Still- it is scary being up that high on the rickety platforms. I can definitely see how someone could get killed falling.

 

How sad.

[RichardK]

Now, the harness is made out of material like a seat belt in a car. That is not going to break - so there must be more to the story. Maybe it was not put on correctly or tightened sufficiently, and she slipped out of it. I guess it would be possible, but sort of like having your pants fall down while walking through town.

 

Me too. I can't picture that material breaking; however, eventually the same harness used again and again will fail over time. I'm sure they are replaced if sufficient wear is evident. However, I doubt they replace them every 100 uses or every "1,000 miles". And I also doubt that there is an OSHA equivalent in Roatan that has strict rules regarding oversight, etc.

 

.........having my pants fall down while walking through town? I'll have to give that some more thought.

[ErikaBeMe79]

That is so sad :(

[musicgirl63]

Prayers and thoughts to this family.

 

It is also a time to remind people to check out the equipment you and your family are using for wear and tear. Don't be shy to speak up. Make sure that you follow the safety guidelines, as silly as it may feel or look.

 

As Salty Dingo said, there is obviously more to the story. And I am certainly not saying the victim was at fault in any way, shape or form, just to be on the alert on the excursions. I think sometimes on vacations we want to just have fun and trust that everything is safe. Unfortunately tragic accidents like this happen and bring us all back to reality.

 

I used the same type of equipment for a high ropes course and had a great time. But I still remember thinking how bothersome the harness was at first. I guess I'm glad that it fit the way it did.

[klct39lg]

We did the zipline in Roatan last week, and I recall some people who were overweight or with back problems had another harness on their upper back as well.

[tunseeker1]

I do inspections of harnesses like those where I work, and I have to destroy 20-30% of them every year for wear issues. The harnesses we use are some of the best petzl rescue harnesses made, but they just get frayed and fail. The harnesses they use are some of the cheaper harnesses and have an even higher failure rate when used as they are being used.

[BeachBumMama]

I wish the story would follow up with more details, but I doubt we'll hear anything else about it. If it did, at least the 'details' might be able to help people who do the zip line. Maybe to know to check something? Something that should be connected and isn't? Something that should be made out of a certain material and isn't? As posted, the islands aren't held to the standards the U.S. would be in safety precautions. Anyone can go up into the jungle and tie lines to a tree and charge money to tourists. If we know what to look for it would make it safer for everyone. Again, I wish they would post the details eventually but that's doubtful.

 

My heart goes out to this family, her two children were with her and I can't begin to fathom what they must be going through.

 

There was that other freak accident recently too, the woman in Key West when the Eagle Ray jumped into the boat and killed her. Not something you think about when you're enjoying a sunny day. Now that was strange.

[BruceMuzz]

It's very sad that 1 person died on a zipline. But then over 700 Americans died on riding lawnmowers last year. Shouldn't you be more worried about safety while mowing the lawn?

[Aprille]

You guys should be OK, Victor Bodden uses South Shore or Jungle canopy. But of the 2 only South Shore Canopy uses 2 cables 1 for Pulley and 1 for safety clip. This accident is a tragedy but I think they will make better rules and regulations when installing a canopy zip-line.

Victor Bodden uses Roatan Jungle Canopy and Pirates of the Caribbean. It is the only two courses shown on his website and that's where they take you unless you request otherwise.

 

You also haven't answered my previous question of what your source is that it was a ship-sponsored excursion at Gumbalimba Park and Tabyana beach break. The MSNBC article states that the family had been in Honduras for a week which would indicate they were on a land vacation.

 

We're leaving tomorrow on the Voyager, and are scheduled to do the ziplines through Victor Bodden tours this week- don't know which line he does. We didn't request a specific line, just left it up to him. I have been very wary of doing this, but my family wanted it, so I'm doing along. Talked with my DH about it, and we will continue on and do the excursion. I'm sure there will be more heightened security measures in place now, at least I hope so.

If you booked with Victor Bodden online and checked that you wanted to do the regular zipline tour, you are going to Roatan Jungle Canopy. If you checked extreme zipline, you are going to Pirates of the Caribbean. DH did the extreme course 3 weeks ago and had a blast. He was very impressed with the equipment and professionalism of the two guides that accompanied him through the entire course. DH knows a bit about the equipment as he is the tree service industry and started out climbing trees in similar harnesses. Me? The car ride up to the first platform to take a picture of DH was more than adventurous enough for me! :eek:

 

You can request to go to South Shore but that course is not shown on Victor Bodden Tours website. (scroll down to see the two zipline courses on the right side)

[Aprille]

I am seeing this story hitting more online newspapers and TV stations but there really is no new information. Indications still seem to be this was a land-based vacation and not a cruise.

 

KXAN Austin TX story

 

I would really like to know which course it was. Neither poster on this thread who has named a course has given any sources (and one said it was a cruise-sponsored excursion) so I'm not buying either without a source.

 

Thinking of emailing Victor Bodden since we recently used his services. We had a great driver, Ali, and I've wanted to thank him for a wonderful day anyway.

 

Sorry if I seem a bit obsessive about all this but I can't seem to get this poor woman and her family out of my mind. :( Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

[SeaPA1]

I'm not sure why some of you are so hung up on whether it was an activity booked through a cruiseline vs a landbased vacation. It's not like they have separate equipment for the cruise folks vs the equipment used by the landbased folks.

[LHP]

I'm not sure why some of you are so hung up on whether it was an activity booked through a cruiseline vs a landbased vacation. It's not like they have separate equipment for the cruise folks vs the equipment used by the landbased folks.

 

It is very important. If this was a cruise line tour, then people want to know to book an independent. If it is an independent tour, people want to know which one to avoid it.

[LHP]

I am seeing this story hitting more online newspapers and TV stations but there really is no new information. Indications still seem to be this was a land-based vacation and not a cruise.

 

KXAN Austin TX story

 

I would really like to know which course it was. Neither poster on this thread who has named a course has given any sources (and one said it was a cruise-sponsored excursion) so I'm not buying either without a source.

 

Thinking of emailing Victor Bodden since we recently used his services. We had a great driver, Ali, and I've wanted to thank him for a wonderful day anyway.

 

Sorry if I seem a bit obsessive about all this but I can't seem to get this poor woman and her family out of my mind. :( Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

 

We would appreciate any additional info you find, since we were planning on doing this excursion in May through the ship.

 

We don't have anything booked yet...so there is still time to switch to an independent if necessary.

[Aprille]

I'm not sure why some of you are so hung up on whether it was an activity booked through a cruiseline vs a landbased vacation. It's not like they have separate equipment for the cruise folks vs the equipment used by the landbased folks.

Not sure who you are referring to but if it's me, I don't give a crap whether it is cruiseline sponsored or not. I would just like to know which course. I think most of us realize the same equipment is used either way.

 

Two posters have named a course with no source. One states it is a cruise ship sponsored excursion (at a different course than the OP named) when it appears the family was on a land based vacation. That pretty much nullifies his/her statement from the get-go for me. YMMV.

 

We would appreciate any additional info you find, since we were planning on doing this excursion in May through the ship.

 

We don't have anything booked yet...so there is still time to switch to an independent if necessary.

I have emailed Victor. Will post when/if I get a reply.

[Lib0007]

Not exactly what I want to hear just two weeks before I go ziplining in Roatan . . . . I feel very sad for this woman and her family.