Young Canadian tourist dies at popular zipline tourist attraction in Thailand

A Canadian tourist fell to his death while riding famed zipline Flight of the Gibbon in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo / Flight of the Gibbon Facebook

A Canadian man on holiday in Thailand with his girlfriend and friends has tragically fallen to his death on a popular zipline.

According to local media reports, Spencer Charles, 25, was sent plunging nearly 100m into a creek after the safety locks failed and his cable disconnected.

Suthep Saenmongkol, the Mae-on district chief, said the horrific accident occurred late on Saturday morning at the zipline operated by the Flight of the Gibbon company.

Flight of the Gibbon brings visitors into Thailand's northern rainforests outside of Chiang Mai. It is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions and one of the largest ziplines in Asia.

Another point of difference for the company is that they allow riders to be alongside wildlife as they zipline.

The company has accepted full responsibility and offered extra compensation to the victim's family, in addition to a 1 million baht (NZ$46,833) insurance payout.

Though Flight of the Gibbon claims "award-winning service combined with the highest possible safety standards" on their website they have not had a spotless record.

Flight of the Gibbon was temporarily shut down after three Israeli tourists were injured after colliding into one another and falling to the ground in 2016.

Two Chinese tourists died in 2015 after falling from two separate zipline attractions. Another Chinese tourist was also injured at a similar attraction in 2016.

Speculation on social media is that Spencer Charles may have been over the recommended weight limit (125kg). Police say they found only three cables holding the customer, when there would normally be at least eight cable lines to ensure safety.