A tour guide has died and 32 other people, mostly foreign tourists, have been rescued after flash floods inundated a cave in Khao Sok National Park in the southern Surat Thani province.
It’s understood the tour company faces legal charges as Nam Talu Cave was closed to visitors at the time, due to the risk of flash floods at this time of year.
The incident happened on Tuesday, August 6, with park rangers at the nearby Ratchaprapha Dam receiving a distress call from a tour guide named Mr. Kraiprajak, aka Bird, at around 7pm.
It’s understood there were 2 guides accompanying 31 foreign tourists when heavy rain triggered flash flooding from the mountain, which then inundated the cave.
Bird and all the tourists managed to get out, but a second tour guide, 37 year old Mr. Pongyos, aka Fluke, from Ubon Ratchathani, was declared missing. Park rangers and rescue workers launched a search operation and the guide’s body was found inside the cave yesterday, August 7.
The Pattaya News reports that 4 tourists were injured while evacuating the cave, as was Bird, who suffered a broken hip. A Dutch woman and a British woman were taken to hospital for treatment.
The tour company involved now faces charges as the cave is off-limits during the rainy season for safety reasons. In October 2007, a similar incident in the same cave claimed the lives of 8 tourists, both foreign and Thai.
Reaching Nam Thalu Cave involves a 2-hour boat journey and then a 2-kilometre walk. According to a Khaosod English report, there is no mobile phone reception in the area.
The cave’s entrance is 30 metres wide, with a stream flowing through it for 600 metres. Unusual rock formations and stalactites and stalagmites bring many tourists to the cave, but it is closed to visitors between June 1 and November 30.
National parks chief Atthaphon Charoenchansa has confirmed the tour company involved in Tuesday’s incident will face legal charges for violating the closure order.
“If there are violations like this example, the Department will take strict legal action against the offending tour companies.”
SOURCE: The Pattaya News | Khaosod English
