PHICHIT - Three men searching for gold died and two others badly hurt after they were trapped in an abandoned gold mine in this northern province on Monday.
The five men were trapped underground for several hours after a cave-in at Khao Panom Pa gold mine in tambon Nong Phra of Wang Sai Phun district, which has been closed for years.
The dead men, who were Nong Phra residents, are believed to have died from suffocation after inhaling poisonous gas. They were Prasit Pichit, 57, Amnart Roonkham, 44, and Prasert Pothong, 44.
The victims’ families alerted police at about 1pm after they checked on them and got no reply.
A team of 30 policemen, soldiers and rescue workers initially found four fortune-hunters were trapped deep inside the mine tunnel but they were still alive. The fifth man was dead. They were able to rescue the four men but two of them later died at a hospital.
The body of the fifth man was still trapped inside as of Monday evening. The rescue team said the area was deep underground with no oxygen, making their attempt to retrieve the body difficult.
The two survivors are identified as Pratuan Chanjek, 35, and Theerayuth Muangkammoon, 33.