Near-fatal injury exposes legal grey zone in Penghu water activities

Near-fatal injury exposes legal grey zone in Penghu water activities

2026-05-18

A so-called “makeshift water park on a boat” has become popular among tourists to Penghu in recent years, but no one ever questioned whether it’s safe, or even legal, until now. Recently, a 37-year-old had his neck fractured on an inflatable water slide secured to a fishing boat, which left him paralyzed in pain. Worse, the injury was so serious, that he had to be flown over to Kaohsiung to be treated. It’s now revealed that these water activities are not covered under relevant laws for water activities.

An exhilarating plunge down the inflatable water slide…

… or a dive from the trapeze…

You can try these out at a makeshift water park on the eastern coasts of Penghu, set up on fishing boats. They’ve become popular in recent years, but are they safe, or even legal? Recently, a 37-year-old man had his neck broken by the strong reaction force upon reaching the bottom of one of these water slides, leaving him paralyzed in pain.

Voice of employee
Ship operator
The lifeguard was on the scene. You use these slides as you would any other slide. He did not follow our instructions, so of course he landed himself in danger.

The man was sent to Penghu Hospital for treatment. An initial CT scan showed closed fractures on the second to fourth cervical vertebrae, which posed risks to his nervous and respiratory systems. The doctor performed intubation on him for airway support, and had him transported to Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital on a helicopter for emergency treatment.

Tour guide
Penghu
He probably wanted to look cool or to pull off a stunt for others’ attention, but ended up injuring himself.

Voice of Liu Mei-fan
Penghu County Gov’t Tourism Dept.
The competent authority for water activities is the Penghu National Scenic Area Headquarters.

Voice of Liu Yu-chien
Penghu National Scenic Area Headquarters
This kind of thing isn’t covered by the Regulations Governing Water Recreation Activities. Our position is that it falls outside their scope.

Without a competent authority, it seems that these makeshift “water parks” operate in a legal grey zone. The shocking incident points to a need to implement regulations to ensure tourists’ safety.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#penghu #waterpark #wateractivities #cruise #summer

37歲男澎湖玩水上氣墊"頸椎骨折" 緊急後送高雄治療

2026-05-18

從事水上活動真的要小心！一名37歲男性到澎湖旅遊時，玩水上氣墊溜滑梯，疑似頭部撞擊到氣墊，導致頸椎骨折，一度下半身失去知覺，緊急搭直升機後送到高雄長庚醫院治療，最扯的是，如今出了事才發現，這種水上溜滑梯竟然沒有主管機關。

從氣墊溜滑梯滑下來，掉入水中，享受俯衝的激烈感。

或是抓好桿子，用力的盪出去，玩起水上盪鞦韆。

在漁船上架起二樓平台和氣墊溜滑梯，改裝成海上遊樂園，這是澎湖東海近幾年來相當受迎歡的水上活動，但卻有一名37歲的男性遊客，在玩水上溜滑梯時，疑似在滑到底部時，人彈起來，脖子後方打到氣墊，導致頸椎骨折，當場動彈不得。

[[聲源:遊艇公司員工]]
“救生員有在現場啊，正常的標準玩法，是跟我們在玩一般的溜滑梯是一樣，因為你沒有在我們的指示，你一定會發生危險嘛”

男遊客送澎湖醫院急救，經電腦斷層檢查，疑似頸椎C2至C4有閉封性骨折，擔心影響神經和呼吸功能，立即預防性插管，由直升機後送到高雄長庚醫院急救。

[[導遊]]
“很有可能就是為了要耍帥，或者是說要做一些比較特殊的動作，引起別人的注意，這樣子的話反而會造成，旅客比較容易造成自身的受傷”

[[聲源:澎湖縣旅遊處副處長劉美凡]]
“如果是水域遊憩活動，主管機關是澎管處”

[[聲源:澎管處副處長呂玉鉛]]
“水域遊憩活動管理辦法，它是沒有去管這個東西，澎管處的立場就是說，它不是屬於水域遊憩活動管理辦法”

找不到主管機關，遊客的安全無法受到保障，對於水上觀光為經濟命脈的澎湖來說，出現大破口。

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