A British tourist has narrowly escaped a terrible flood in Thailand that swept into a cave, killing her guide.
Emily Lucy Davies, 23, from Newcastle, was exploring the forbidden Nam Talu cave with 21 other visitors when she was hit by a flash flood as they left the area in Surat Thani province last night.
37-year-old Thai guide Pongyot Kerddee was blown over and washed back into the cave, while the rest of the group braced themselves against the raging current.
Park rangers launched a rescue operation after receiving a report of the trapped individuals at 7:00 p.m. local time.
All the tourists and another Thai guide, Kraiprachak Jansatem, were brought to safety, but Pongyot was still missing.
Rescuers found his lifeless body early Wednesday morning in a crevice in the cave. He was believed to have gotten married last month.
This image shows the entrance to the infamous Nam Talu Cave
Emily Lucy Davies, 23, from Newcastle, was exploring the restricted Nam Talu cave with 21 other visitors when the flood struck
Members of the tour group recover from injuries after being rescued from the cave
This image shows the interior of the cave before the Flood
Rescuers carry the injured members of the cave excursion party after their rescue
According to authorities, Kraiprachak suffered a dislocated hip, while Emily and a Dutch woman, Micha Medyna van der Pluijm, 18, suffered minor injuries.
They were treated at Ban Takhun Hospital.
Two other injured people did not want to go to the hospital.
Jessada Jitrat, governor of Surat Thani province, said: “I have been monitoring the situation all night.
‘Officials from Ban Takhun district will work with Khao Sok National Park, rescue workers, volunteers and boat operators to assist the tourists.’
According to local media, access to the Nam Talu cave, located next to the Rajjaprabha Dam, is prohibited from June to November due to seasonal flooding.
It is unclear how the Thai guides reached the area.
In 2007, the cave also suffered a terrible flood, killing another British tourist and seven others.
John Cullen, 24, drowned while saving his fiancée Helena Carroll, 21, from high water.
Carroll, 21, was the sole survivor of a group of nine who explored the cave complex after a flash flood killed Cullen, two guides, a Swiss family of four and a ten-year-old German boy to their deaths.
The cave was also the site of a terrible flood that claimed the lives of another British tourist and seven others in 2007
The body of a Thai guide who died from rising water in the cave is loaded into an ambulance by emergency services
John Cullen, 24, drowned while saving his fiancée Helena Carroll, 21, from rising floodwaters in Nam Talu Cave in 2007
Helena Carroll was the sole survivor of a group of nine who explored the cave complex after a flash flood killed Cullen, two guides, a Swiss family of four and a 10-year-old German boy
“I think we were halfway into the cave when I suddenly heard that roar,” said Carroll, from Solihull, West Midlands, weeks after the terrifying incident.
‘I looked back and saw a flood of water coming towards us. John and I started climbing. The first thing we saw was a guide and the German boy being dragged away, then the Swiss couple and their two beautiful girls.
‘As we climbed I lost my grip and slid down, but John grabbed me and pulled me up. We continued climbing higher and found a ledge.
“We couldn’t see anything because all the flares were gone. John said, ‘If we stay here, we’re going to die.’ I said, ‘We have to stay. At least we’re safe where we are.’
‘He decided he would get into the current and go with it, thinking the current would pull him out, then he could bring help to save me.
“He slid into the water and that was the last I saw of him. He let go and he was just gone.”
The bodies of the eight victims were found several hours later, with Carroll trapped on the edge for hours.
She was later rescued by a search team.