Andrew Drummond

From Times

October 16, 2007
Thai guides ‘ignored official warning not to go into the caves’

 Helena Carroll, the sole survivor, rescued from the cave in Khao Sok National Park

Andrew Drummond in Bangkok
The two tour guides who led six foreign tourists to their deaths in a cave in southern Thailand at the weekend had been warned not to enter the caves by park officials, it was claimed today.

The two Thai men were specifically told about the dangers of flash flooding during the monsoon season, now at its peak in Thailand, but ignored their advice.

The warning was given by the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region 5, which covers Khao Sok national park, where Helena Carroll, 21, from Solihull, was the only survivor of the disaster in Tham Nam Thalu cave.

Because it had not been raining immediately before the group entered the cave, the report concluded that the guides ignored the warning from park officers.

The park was hit by a torrential downpour while the tourists were inside, causing a flash flood to sweep everyone but Ms Carroll away.

The TAT forwarded a copy of its investigation into the tragedy to the British, German and Swiss embassies in Bangkok today.

The victims were a Swiss family, Benno Fischer, 49, and Stalder Fischer, 48, and their daughters Ambarea, 17, and Sarah, 15; a German boy Eddie Gaempe, 10, and John Cullan, 24, Helena’s fiancee.

The two guides killed were named as Kitisak Pratoom, 30, and Sahachai Boonkong, 25.

Meanwhile, Banyat Jansena, the Thai deputy Interior Minister, ordered the closure of Khao Sok and five other national parks in Surat Thani, saying they were at risk from flash floods.

The parks were: Kaeng Krung, Tairomyen, Klong Panom, Angthong Marine Park and Pangan Marine Park. The last two are particular popular with scuba divers.

Today Ms Carroll was being looked after by British Embassy officials. A spokesman said the Embassy had dispatched a Vice-Consul to the scene as soon as they heard the news.

After being rescued she said: “One minute I was in what I thought was the most beautiful place in the world. The next thing there is death all around me.”

“We had got halfway through the cave and I heard this sudden roar. I looked behind and saw this rush of water coming towards us,” she said.

“John and I started climbing. The first thing we saw was the tour guide and 10-year-old German boy being dragged away, then the Swiss couple and their two lovely girls.

“As we climbed I lost my grip and slipped down but John grabbed me and pulled me up. We kept climbing higher and found a ledge. We were all alone in the dark. We could not see anything as all the torches had gone.

“John said, ‘If we stay here we are going to die’. But I said we should stay. At least we were safe where we were.

“But he decided that he would get into the current and flow with it. He thought the current would take him out, then he could bring help to rescue me.

“He slipped into the water and that’s the last I ever saw of him. He let go and he was just gone. I was alone in the dark. All I could see was insects that light up like fireflies and hear the rumbling of the water. I sat there shivering all night. I had no idea what the time was.

“Then all of a sudden I saw a bright light. It was the light of a torch and so I started shouting ‘Help. Help. I’m over here’.

“When I got out I was told that many people had died. They had been found at midnight, eight hours before I was rescued.”