Thai cave hero divers explore Vietnam tunnel that could be part of world’s biggest cave system
- Rick Stanton, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell were part of the team who rescued the trapped Thai youth soccer team last year
- The divers descended into a flooded pit in the Son Doong cave in Vietnam, a place so vast it has its own weather patterns
Three divers who helped rescue a Thai soccer team last year have made a fresh discovery in Vietnam, where they explored a tunnel that could expand the footprint of the world’s largest cave.
The team was invited to descend into a waterlogged pit in the Son Doong cave in central Vietnam that has never been explored and is believed to connect to nearby chambers.
They were forced back at 77 metres (252 feet) because they did not have enough oxygen to push further, but they think the tunnels could be 120 metres deep.
If the tunnel connects to another cave, it would make Son Doong “easily the largest cave in the world and it would never be overtaken”, British cave expert Howard Limbert, who helped organise the dive, said at a press conference announcing the find.
The three divers – Rick Stanton, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell – were part of the daring rescue to save 12 Thai footballers and their coach who were trapped in a cave for 18 days last year.