CHIANG RAI – The search operation for a missing tourist, believed to be either Chinese or Japanese, in a Mae Sai cave has been suspended after several failed attempts, as flooding makes access to the cave dangerous and difficult.
Chukiat Luangsopapan, head of Sirikorn Chiang Rai disaster relief group, said the water level in a stream inside Saithong cave has risen and several parts of the cave have been flooded after days of continuous rain.
A spacious area known as Larn Phra where visitors come to worship a Buddha statue was entirely under water on Tuesday. Lan Phra is about one kilometre from the cave's mouth. Officials believe the missing man intended to meditate in this area.
An underwater search at Lan Phra was also cancelled. The flooded area was deep and studded with stalagmites and stalactites.
“It was dark and not safe for the divers. We will stop the search and will not go beyond Lan Phra,” Mr Chukiat said. “We will wait for the water to recede before resuming.”
Rescuers on Sunday said they could smell an odour from the cave entrnce, like that from a decomposing body, leading to the belief the tourist might be dead. On Tuesday, they said the smell had vanished.
A man of Asian appearance, aged 50-60 year, was last seen entering the cave in Pong Pha subdistrict, with a rucksack and a gallon of water, on Aug 12. He asked a vendor, Mavinee Mayer, at the entrance of the cave to look after his bike, saying he was going inside to meditate for a few days. Ms Pavinee said the man looked Chinese or Japanese.
On Aug 18, rescue workers went two kilometres into the cave, but found no trace of the missing tourist. Local residents who have explored it said Saithong cave is connected to several other caves, covering a distance of over 10 kilometres. They said a person could walk from Saithong to Pha Mee cave in the adjacent subdistrict of Wiang Pang Kham across the border in Myanmar.