Since June, Nam Talu has been closed to the public as a result of the storm risk.
PUBLISHED: 7 Aug 2024 at 11: 12
A group of travellers were leaving the Nam Talu bunker in Khao Sok National Park on Tuesday night when a flash flood caused a tour guide to perish.  ,
The 22 international tourists and their subsequent guide escaped the torrent safely and unharmed.  ,
The grotto, next to the Rajjaprabha bridge reservoir in Phanom region, is closed to the public from June to November each month, the wet period, because of the risk of flooding.
The guides seemingly ignored this and locked the tourists in on Tuesday, but it was not known why.  ,
Around 7:30 p.m., 22 travellers and two guidelines were exiting the cave as a result of a flash flood.
One of the guidelines was carried back into the cave after being washed off his legs. The other members of the party were able to withstand the present and were escorted away by soldiers. A nearby hospital treated two French women who had slight leg injuries.
Soldiers assisted by liberate workers started a search for the missing link, Pongyot Koeddee, a 37-year-old local of Ubon Ratchathani. His lifeless body was found inside the bunker about 3.20am on Wednesday.
Nam Talu grotto is 600 feet longer and 30 feet wide at its mouth. It is best known for its beautiful stone rocks, stalactites and stalagmites. The pond pier, which is also used by sightseeing boats, is located far away from it.
Eight Thai and foreigners were trapped in the grotto on October 13, 2007, in a flash disaster.
After being rescued from the flooded Nam Talu grotto on Tuesday, visitors rest at the KriSorn raft resort. ( Photo: Supapong Chaolan )
Nam Talu cave in Surat Thani ( photo: Supapong Chaolan )