When two girls, aged 10 and 12, were lost in a storm drain in South Australia last night, most people would have expected them to have called the emergency services immediately, seeing as they had their mobile phones with them. However, that was not the case with the two lost girls. Instead of ringing the emergency services, the two girls decided to make a Facebook status update stating that they were lost, which, luckily for them, caught the attention of one of their male friends who called for help.The two girls were eventually rescued from the storm drain in Hackham, in the south of Adelaide, by the fire service, according to ABC news (via TechRadar). The firemen used a ladder to get the young urban explorers back to safety. Fireman Glenn Benham said "it is a worry for us because it causes a delay on us being able to rescue the girls."
"If they were able to access Facebook from their mobile phones, they could have called 000, so the point being they could have called us directly and we could have got there quicker than relying on someone being online and replying to them and eventually having to call us via 000 anyway."
While the girls were lucky that there was someone online at the time the girls made their Facebook status update, the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service have expressed concern that the girls decided to update their Facebook page rather than calling 000, the number for the Australian emergency services. Also, some were concerned that the 10 and 12 year old girls were exploring the drains at all, given the risk of drowning in the event of flash floods.
Talk about facebook infatuation !
http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=underage
http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=underage
That's a rule for United States citizens only, and other countries with similar restrictions on collecting information from young people.
As Facebook is a US business, I believe it may still apply, especially if the data is stored in the US.
0118 999 881 999 119 7253
0118 999 881 999 119 7253
Hahahaha.. you so got the number wrong! It's
0118 999 881 999 119 725 ...................................... 3
Fire! Fire! Help me!
123 Carandon Road.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Maurice Moss
Classic.
0118 999 881 999 119 7253
as soon as I saw the emergency number, that number popped into my head
I'd probably tweet help then send a global text to everyone first (unless I can talk on the phone and text at the same time on my HTC Touch Pro...)
0118 999 881 999 119 7253
Just +1 to you my friend, you have made my day... atleast what there is of it at 08:38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ
+1
They probably weren't too concerned yet. All they said was that they were lost, who hasn't been lost before. I guess if they were still stuck after another few hours or trying to find there way out, they would then have called 000 for the police.
Or are we supposed to call the police immediately we don't know where we are now? Maybe you guys have forgotten what it is like to be a kid, or you were locked into your rooms?
That, along with letting their kids go urban exploring sounds like a case of irresponsible parenting, unless there's a good reason otherwise (like their parents were out).
In school, AFAIK some are even 5-10 years and have facebook profiles
Here is a link: http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=underage
Per my above comment, if the data is stored in the US, fairly sure it still applies.
Meh. I was urban exploring at 10. Part of growing up. Admittedly I was never too far from help...
What's the number for 911?
That's hilarious
Bah, this is better
the first one was better. I heard of canned laughter but nothing in those last 2 vids were remotely funny, they should save it for actual funny moments.
What's the number for 911?
Funny, but this is Australia, where the emergenct number isn't 911, it is 000. So not an unreasonable question.
Oh yeah, obviously a big Disney fan here? Yeah, Disney, the highest form of humor, get something unfunny, and have kids/animals say it = immediate hilarity. Apologies if you are only 10 years old.
Right, except, they're Australian. So would know it's 000, not 911.
Correct. You can also dial 112 on mobiles for emergency calls.
Status Update: Waters up to my waist...
Status Update: Waters up to my shoulders...
Status Update: OMG! Julia don't go to that party without me!
Status Update: (I really can't think of anything else funny because I don't do Facebook and I don't know what kids write on it)
That was the best thing I've heard yet
No, why? Were you ever a kid? Were you never lost.
sorry. are you answering to something?
In THIS day and age?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQ6Z-HmAqY
lol
Last edited by kInG aLeXo on 07 Sep 2009 - 18:34
Stupid children... What's more, it cost them more money to post to Facebook, that it would have been to call the emergency services.
Stupid children... What's more, it cost them more money to post to Facebook, that it would have been to call the emergency services.
lol
it cost them nothing in both cases
Stupid children... What's more, it cost them more money to post to Facebook, that it would have been to call the emergency services.
Not necessarily, or maybe mobile plans work differently were you are from. With a lot of plans, you pay say $30 a month, you get certain amount of phone calls and data for that.
In AUstralia all emergency services from all phones is always free. This is required by law.
It is illegal to prevent an emergency call from any functional phone. EG a "locked" phone in an office or a motel can still dial 000.
A mobile phone can call 000 if ANY carrier has coverage in that area and the call is free, you can also call when there is no sim.
000 would never cost you a cent ever so cost is never an issue.
I read this in an Australian newspaper yesterday, so I guess so.
lul, wtf you're talking about
Are you crazy? The friend is paranoid and if you had seen the update you wouldn't have called 000? That's horrible humanitarianism -- you would of let them die so people wouldn't rag on your beloved facebook?
Oh please.
You must work for Fox news, adding in lies that never happened to the story. There was no storm, they were walking around a storm drain, that is all. No danger, unless you are afraid of the boogey man?
Who said it was flooding? Who said there was any water at all in the drain? There probably wasn't a cloud in the sky for days beforehand?
Sounds like the girls considered pros and cons of their situation.
con: cops/parents being told they were trespassing in public property
pro: no current threat and lots of time before you are actually have a problem regarding food/water
Im sure if it became immediately life threatening they would have called for help regardless. I would suggest the fear of the parents would be their only hesitation to call emergency services to help them out of a problem.
The friend probably has done the right thing, but it is almost a case of over reacting. I would suggest the girls just wanted a status of "we are lost" and they weren't even asking for help. They may have not been actually worried about their situation at all, atleast yet.
Sounds like the girls considered pros and cons of their situation.
con: cops/parents being told they were trespassing in public property
pro: no current threat and lots of time before you are actually have a problem regarding food/water
Im sure if it became immediately life threatening they would have called for help regardless. I would suggest the fear of the parents would be their only hesitation to call emergency services to help them out of a problem.
The friend probably has done the right thing, but it is almost a case of over reacting. I would suggest the girls just wanted a status of "we are lost" and they weren't even asking for help. They may have not been actually worried about their situation at all, atleast yet.
That isn't the concern -- storm drains are inherently hazardous (and can go from very safe to very flooded, very quickly) and parents should be raising children to be wary of hazardous situations in which the safest response is always to dial emergency services.
If these were your children and you wouldn't be insanely concerned that your children did not dial emergency services then you have a serious parenting problem.
But agree where where the Parents..
But agree where where the Parents..
I know, how were these kids let out of the house, let alone without a team of security guards. This is negligence of the highest order, kids walking around by themselves, having adventures, building rafts, exploring storm drains. These parent should be locked up.
Damn, I hope you don't have kids.
+1
We as parents need to embrace and teach how to use technology to our kid's advantage, be it learning, entertainment, security, etc but things like this mean two we parents are failing because girls/boys at that age shouldn't have a Facebook (or any other social site) profile regardless of Facebook's Underage policy and many parents out there have to be monitoring their kid's cellphone and internet usage for their own safety.
Gladly, those girls were found and returned home unharmed.
In a car talking: Cell Phone = Natural Selection
In a storm drain: Cell Phone > Natural Selection
In a car talking: Cell Phone = Natural Selection
In a storm drain: Cell Phone > Natural Selection
I'd say, if this situation ended otherwise, we might have a Darwin Award nomination.
Indeed
lol The world will be in good hands in a few years...
if not that sounds even worse than what happened here. LOL
That actually sounds quite epic.
Perez Hilton
Does no one see that two young kids decided to update their facebook for help, instead of calling emergency services!?
Does no one see that two young kids decided to update their facebook for help, instead of calling emergency services!?
I'm confused, isn't that what everyone is making fun of?
I ment to say "Does no one see something wrong with the fact that two young kids decided to update their facebook for help, instead of calling emergency services!?"
I ment to say "Does no one see something wrong with the fact that two young kids decided to update their facebook for help, instead of calling emergency services!?"
I think you still need a lot more coffee.
I ment to say "Does no one see something wrong with the fact that two young kids decided to update their facebook for help, instead of calling emergency services!?"
"Help, down a drain"
IDIOTS.
Glad the girls made it out alive thanks to another mode of communications
Sewage is for sewage, storm drains are for rain run off.
Sewage pipes are connected to the house and typically goes to treatment plants and dont have big openings everywhere. It is illegal in Australia to plumb roof gutters and such for rain runoff to the sewage system.
Storm pipes are not connected to houses, they are for street drains and typically run off to a nearby river, creek or ocean. At the creek or whatever the pipe just ends and it is common for people to walk up into them, even if it is kind of stupid to do so.
Flooding isn't common in a storm? What a sand storm or a hail storm or a blizzard? It is very common in a rain storm, what are you talking about? Storm drains are there to route the excess water away.
You should have a phone that can do TTY communications.
The deaf emergency number in Australia is 106.
http://www.relayservice.com.au/topics/2065.html
Last edited by bits on 08 Sep 2009 - 00:32
For an Australian, I think I just witnessed why there are so many idiots who play in them, they think they aren't a big deal.
All it takes is 5mm of rain 10kms up the road to fill on of these drains.
When it rains in Australian storms, it rains hard, and it rains a lot of water.
How did they get into the storm drain?
"Facebook thwarts natural selection"
I hope their parents create Twitter accounts for them too!
At least they got rescued, albeit a rather stupid way.
Generation-x wasn't so bad after all. (yay)
Facebook will be flooded with fake news.
Facebook will turn in the new pedobear playground (like it was the irc, chat and messenger).
But on the other hand, if she did, I think calling the emergency numbers was the best bet, kinda sad ppl's addiction and depedency on Facebook
Why the **** were they in a storm drain?
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.