Malaysian Racer Survives Abseil Accident
Rob / 02.09.2004
One of Malaysia’s top triathletes and adventure racers, Lew Seng Leong, has survived a 50m cliff fall during the recent Langkawi International Nature Challenge.This ambitious new 5 day race was marred by the accident which occurred on August 21st, the first day of competition. Lew’s team arrived at the cliff top on the island of Pulau Tuba around 6.30 pm and as he was preparing to abseil he fell to the beach below, having not been securely clipped on. Fortunately, he didn’t hit the rocks at the base of the cliff and was wearing his helmet, but he was in a critical condition and initial reports gave him a 50/50 chance of survival.
Lew was evacuated to a local hospital by boat and subsequently to another hospital. The next day he was air lifted to Singapore by SOS flight, which cost his family S$30,000 and has since made a remarkably good recovery. By Saturday he was reported to be “out of ICU, able to sit up and eating soft food, able to talk and wiggle his toesâ€, but with multiple broken bones and said to be “sad about the whole incident ... like his medical bills.â€
An accomplished marathon runner and triathlete, Lew is also one of Malaysia’s more experienced adventure racers, with many wins to his credit and has twice taken part in the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest.
The accident will raise many questions about the safety of the race and his team mates have said the organisers failed to secure Lew properly at the abseil site. They’ve also said the race insurance is inadequate. The race themselves have made no comment on their website and the event continued, with no mention of the accident at the final prize giving.
Lew will have a long recovery period and his team mate Adrian Mok has appealed to racers who know him for financial support. You can read his statement about the accident here.
[You can read a report on the race by David Ogden on SleepMonsters.com.]
