UK tour operator The Dragon Trip PTE Ltd (now known as Transforma Travel Group Ltd) has admitted liability following a boat capsizing and drowning incident during a riverboat excursion on the River Kampot, Cambodia. The incident occurred in November 2022 and resulted in multiple casualties.
Stewarts’ International Injury team represents one of the passengers who sustained multiple injuries, including a hypoxic brain injury and spinal injuries.
Package holiday booking and holiday excursion
Dragon Trip is a UK-based tour operator which organises group tours across Asia, offering a range of experiences as part of its package tours.
Stewarts’ client booked one of Dragon Trip’s month-long package tours to Southeast Asia beginning on 7 November 2022. The package holiday included accommodation and various activities and excursions, notably a boat trip on the River Kampot in Cambodia. The Dragon Trip package holiday was subject to English law, and the Package Travel Regulations applied to the booking.
Under Regulation 15 of the Package Travel Regulations, Dragon Trip was liable for the proper performance of the holiday contract. In X v Kuoni [2021] UKSC 34, the UK Supreme Court found: “A holiday is intended to be a pleasant and enjoyable experience…The purpose of [a package holiday contract], namely, to confer an enjoyable experience, encourages a broad, not a narrow, interpretation of the holiday services contracted for.”
The Package Travel Regulations and case law interpreting their provisions mean that a tour operator is responsible for the acts and/or omissions of the other travel service providers the tour operator uses to perform the package holiday contract and for all holiday services forming part of the package holiday contract. Dragon Trip’s package holiday included the riverboat excursion, meaning Dragon Trip would be responsible for the safety of its customers while they were on the excursion and any “lack of conformity” in the performance of the excursion by its local suppliers.
Consistent with the requirements under the Package Travel Regulations, Dragon Trip’s express terms and conditions also confirmed that if Dragon Trip or its suppliers improperly performed the contract, then Dragon Trip would be required to pay compensation to its customers.
Interestingly, although a UK-based tour provider, Dragon Trip had attracted a number of international travellers to book the package holiday with them. This meant English law applied to the holiday contract, even for those customers living outside the UK.
The incident
On 28 November 2022, Stewarts’ client arrived at the Arcadia Backpackers hostel in Kampot, Cambodia, along with other travellers on the package tour. After their arrival, they were directed to a boat for a sunset BBQ cruise down the River Kampot. The boat had first and second floors, and our client alleges that the second floor appeared to have been added to the boat post-manufacture. Stewarts’ client’s case is that the boat’s condition, combined with being over an acceptable capacity in passenger numbers, meant it was unstable and liable to capsize.
During the excursion, the boat stopped to let the passengers swim in the river, with many jumping from the upper deck into the water. Evidence suggests that the crew instructed passengers to stay on the right-hand side of the boat when jumping into the water. The boat began to take on water and capsized. Stewarts’ client’s case is that the capsizing was due to the instability caused by the extra weight and the poor maintenance, upkeep and design of the boat.
During the capsizing, Stewarts’ client fell backwards onto a chair and was hit by other equipment not fixed to the boat. Our client was then dragged into the water by the sinking boat. They then became trapped by items of furniture on the boat that were not fixed down, forcing them under the hull as the boat sank into the river. Our client lost consciousness and was pulled from the water by fellow passengers before being taken to a nearby village to receive first aid. After this, they were taken to a local hospital. Our client was subsequently diagnosed with extensive trauma, physical and psychological, including a hypoxic brain injury from drowning and a cervical spine instability.
Summarising the impact of this incident, our client comments:
“It is hard to describe in words how traumatic this incident was for me and what huge influence it still has on my life. I had to fight against death, and experienced how scary it feels to die. Now I must fight against all the problems that occurred from this. My weekly routine consists of therapies, doctor and hospital visits and a lot of bureaucracy that must be dealt with in the form of letters and emails, with which I am dependent on help. Apart from my injuries and memories, this is like another never-ending nightmare.”
Chris Deacon, International Injury partner at Stewarts, comments: “This was a horrific and traumatic incident. We welcome Dragon Trip’s admission of liability and thank the tour operator for making this concession relatively early in the proceedings, which is a huge relief for our client. When the boat capsized, our client suffered injuries consistent with drowning, including a hypoxic traumatic brain injury and spinal injuries, thought to have been caused by our client being trapped under the hull. Our client is also suffering from psychological injuries, including severe PTSD. As a result of the incident, our client has been unable to return to work, struggles with daily tasks and is receiving ongoing treatment to support their rehabilitation and care needs.”
Next steps
Chris added: “We will now seek to work collaboratively with Dragon Trip’s legal team and insurer in relation to our client’s rehabilitation needs and to resolve our client’s claim for damages. The admission of liability enables our client to focus on maximising their recovery from this distressing and life-changing incident. This case demonstrates the importance of thorough research when booking package holidays to ensure you book with a tour operator whose terms and conditions provide a viable means of redress if the worst does come to pass while you are on holiday. If our client had booked the riverboat excursion directly with a supplier in Cambodia, there would have been added challenges in seeking legal redress. This incident, involving multiple individuals from different countries, further highlights why minimum levels of liability insurance should now be a legal requirement for tour operators.”
Commenting on the admission of liability from Dragon Trip, Stewarts’ client says:
“I’m very thankful for my legal team at Stewarts led by Chris, my doctors, family and friends, as well as other passengers on this trip who helped and still support me in this difficult situation. I am grateful especially to a family member who was also a victim of the incident, who chose to fight for me from the very first second and still does. While I am suffering from my various life-changing injuries, this unsafe boat activity is still running. After all that happened before, during and after the tour with Dragon Trip, I’m very relieved that liability was admitted. I appreciate this step and recognition as I continue to come to terms with what has happened and how my life now looks.”
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