British tourists are rescued from snake-infested Thai jungle

A pair of British tourists were among a group rescued from an abandoned hiking trail in a jungle in Thailand.

Prasannatma Das Bhatt, 30, his friend Anne Pedder, 35, and Dutch holidaymaker Sandra Helena, 44, had set off on a hike through the snake-filled woods in the Khao Ra mountain of Surat Thani province on Monday morning.

But as dusk arrived the trio realised they had strayed off the main path and into the undergrowth. Completely lost, they were forced to call park officials for help.

Thailand is home to hundreds of species of snakes, including the lethal monocled cobra, pit viper, and reticulated python – one of the largest snakes in the world. 

The hiking trail along the Khao Ra mountain is known to be particularly treacherous. The mountain is located on Koh Pha Ngan island (pictured)

Thikamphon Penchaom, chief of the Than Sadet National Park, sent out a search team to locate the missing tourists. 

He said: ‘We examined the coordinates from one of their phones, and found that they were on a trail leading up to the peak of the mountain.’

He added that the path had been disused, and is now covered with undergrowth.

The search party finally discovered the foreigners all safe at 8:45pm local time. They were given first aid for minor injuries.

Thikamphon added: ‘Hiking in the forests can be dangerous for anyone who is not experienced and does not know the local area. Tourists should also stay on the correct paths and have emergency supplies.’

The rescue team pose with the hikers who got lost in the snake infested woods of Khao Ra

Khao Ra is the highest peak on the province’s Koh Pha Ngan island. It is known to be a difficult hike, even while following the correct trail.

In September 2021, British pensioner Barry Leonard Weller, 72, was rescued after spending three days after going missing in remote jungle in Khon Kaen province.

And in May last year, two British teenage girls Eliza Keeping, 19, and Rose Cox, 19, were found safe after disappearing in woodland in Surat Thani province.

Worried staff at the Coco Hostel Khao Sok, a set of floating bamboo raft rooms, called the police when the two girls had not returned from a walk by 9pm.

The Khao Sok National Park is a sprawling 285-square-mile area of evergreen rainforests older than the Amazon. 

Eliza Rose Keeping, 19, from Brill, Buckinghamshire, and Matilda Rose Adelaide Cox, 19, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, were staying at a resort in Surat Thani province

The Khao Sok National Park is a sprawling 285-square-mile area of evergreen rainforests older than the Amazon

Rescue teams were immediately notified of the missing youngsters amid fears they could have been injured in the sprawling woodland or fell into the lake.

Neither of the girls could be contacted on their mobile phones. 

Frantic park rangers and local volunteers launched a search for the girls throughout the night in the vast Khao Sok National Park.

They were found soaking wet, exhausted and covered in mud the next morning at around 9am. 

‘Both of the girls were in a state of exhaustion but they were healthy. They were relieved to be safe.’