Luang Cave to be turned into 'Living Museum'

[snoop1130]

Luang Cave to be turned into 'Living Museum'

By Jintamas Saksornchai, Staff Reporter

 

Rescue personnel on June 28 walk out of the entrance to a cave complex where it's believed that 12 soccer team members and their coach went missing. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

 

CHIANG RAI — The cave complex where a massive 17-day rescue effort captivated the world will be turned into a museum, the head of the operation announced Wednesday.

 

Speaking at the final news conference of the epic rescue, Narongsak Osottanakorn said the cave will tell the story of the operation he said was only possible because of help from around the world.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2018/07/11/luang-cave-to-be-turned-into-living-museum/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-7-11

[webfact]

Tham Luang cave to get new life as museum and tourist attraction

By The Nation

 

 

A NEW CHAPTER is set to begin at Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang cave, based on lessons learned from the 17-day ordeal of the stranded footballers and the massive international effort to rescue them from the flooded complex, as the joint rescue operation command wound up yesterday.

 

“The lessons from the Tham Luang incident, when presented and learned, will be useful to people across the world,” the chief of the operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said yesterday. 

 

These lessons, for example, will provide safety guidance at tourist sites and equip people with basic survival skills. 

 

 

“The Tham Luang cave will be developed further as an attraction and also as a museum,” Narongsak said. “We have already compiled some rescue tools [for the museum] … We have also compiled the list of rescue divers who have made valuable contributions.”

 

The successful operation at Tham Luang now ranks as among the world’s great rescue stories.

 

The search and rescue mission, which was conducted under the command of Narongsak, started on June 24 a day after 12 boys and their assistant football coach reportedly disappeared in the cave after flash floods hit the area. Officials of the Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Non forest park in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district reported their disappearance after finding their bicycles at the mouth of the cave and floodwaters covered much of the cave on the evening of June 23. 

 

Help finally poured in from all over the world, and was integrated efficiently.

 

People across the globe in recent weeks had been fixated on the unfolding drama at the Tham Luang cave, with its treacherous environment marked by thin air, pitch black darkness, jagged rocks, narrow choke points,

submerged passages, high water levels and unpredictable rainfall. To bring the stranded footballers out of the cave, the rescue team had to help them brave a challenging journey that required trekking and diving through very narrow tunnels. 

 

 

SEAL chief Rear Admiral Apakorn Yukongkaew described the operation as “extremely difficult”. 

 

According to him, the decision to dive the boys out was chosen partly because oxygen levels in the cave had dropped.

 

It dropped to 15 per cent while in normal circumstance it should have been 21 per cent. Letting the oxygen level drop to 12 per cent could have threatened lives.

 

“That’s when we decided to gather the world’s best divers (for evacuations),” he said. 

 

The united efforts of scores of people finally overcame all obstacles to enable the safe evacuations of all the 13 stranded survivors between Sunday and Tuesday. 

 

The survivors are now under observation at Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital for extensive check-ups and recuperation. 

 

Three of the boys had symptoms of pneumonia yesterday.

 

Their families have been allowed to see them from a distance of about two metres from behind a glass window. 

 

They have been quarantined in order to prevent the risk of infections as the trapped boys and their coach had spent more than two weeks inside the dark and cold cave. 

 

Doctors have assured that the football team’s members are relatively healthy. 

 

The results of blood tests on the first four evacuees have already come out and they are good. 

 

“These four are not carrying any infection,” the hospital said. 

 

Narongsak, the former Chiang Rai governor who has been transferred as governor of Phayao, said the trapped boys – who have still not been allowed to check news on media – would soon recognise that millions of people had prayed for them and they would definitely want to give back to society. 

 

He officially announced the closure of the joint rescue operation command yesterday as the stranded footballers had already been handed over to the hospital. All rescue equipment will be moved out of the cave, and the site returned to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) for rehabilitation. 

 

DNP deputy director-general Chongklai Worapongsathorn disclosed that the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry would submit the development plan at a public hearing on July 25.

 

“Local people in Chiang Rai can have a say,” he said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30349876

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-12

[Thailand]

A fitting tribute that will also make a few baht that could be redirected for some useful purposes.

[webfact]

Thailand's Tham Luang cave to become museum to showcase boys' rescue

By Panu Wongcha-um

 

Rescue workers take a rest as they take out machines after 12 soccer players and their coach were rescued in Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

MAE SAI, Thailand (Reuters) - A cave complex in Thailand where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach were trapped for more than two weeks before they were safely brought out will be turned into a museum to showcase the rescue, the head of the operation said on Wednesday.

 

Two British divers found the 12 boys and their coach in a cavern in the flooded Tham Luang cave system in the northern province of Chiang Rai on Monday last week, nine days after they went missing during an excursion.

 

They were all brought safely following a mission fraught with obstacles that ended late on Tuesday. A Thai rescue diver died last Friday, highlighting the dangers.

 

"This area will become a living museum, to show how the operation unfolded," the head of rescue mission, Narongsak Osottanakorn, told a news conference.

 

"An interactive data base will be set up" he said. "It will become another major attraction for Thailand."

 

Thai officials say the fate of the boys and the multinational rescue has put the cave firmly on the map and plans are in place to develop it into a tourist destination.

 

But Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday extra precautions would have be implemented both inside and outside the cave to safeguard tourists.

 

A guide book describes the relatively unexplored Tham Luang cave as having an "impressive entrance chamber" leading to a marked path and then a series of chambers and boulders.

 

Villagers say it is known to be prone to flooding and many have urged authorities to post clearer warnings.

 

Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the cave would be closed from Thursday but did not say for how long.

 

He said plans were in place to "revive" an adjacent national park where hundreds of rescue workers and military personnel set up camp during the search and rescue.

 

Superstitious Thais have been gripped by a legend about the cave - the full name of which is Tham Luang Nang Non or "cave of the reclining lady".

 

Legend has it that a beautiful princess ran away to the cave with her commoner lover. Her father sent soldiers to kill the lover, prompting the princess to commit suicide.

 

Surrounding mountains took on the shape of her body.

 

(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpnat in BANGKOK; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-12

[cardinalblue]

So now there are going to open this cave as a museum/tourist trap and put thousands of people at risk. Maybe the cave isn't such a complex and difficult piece of nature after all. Man always think they are smarter than nature and go anywhere and intervene for their amusement. One needs to respect nature. Doesn't man learn from previous mistakes like deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico where technology surpassed the cognitive abilities of humans to manage that technology. 

 

Was that the fastest Environmental Impact Report ever done? Nature always bats last and will unleash her wrath when the time is right on these mindless souls....

[Darcula]

How about adding a wild board petting zoo operated by monks?

[Jeremy50]

The cave had a peaceful run for a billion years, sadly that's all over now. Here come the car parks, the  concrete mixers, the scamming double pricers, the human effluent, and the trash.

[LazySlipper]

I hope their plans get rained out.

[BobBKK]

Why not employ the kids as cave tour guides?   I mean customers can never get lost right?

[Oziex1]

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

A fitting tribute that will also make a few baht that could be redirected for some useful purposes.

I think you mean redirected into the pockets of greedy undeserving officials. 

[jaiyen]

34 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Why not employ the kids as cave tour guides?   I mean customers can never get lost right?

What a stupid comment ! Do you really think they will want to go back in there every day after what they went through ??  Also they got lost on the way in and came out sedated. Not very experienced are they ?

[jaiyen]

The museum should be named after Sanam Gunan.

 

[BobBKK]

10 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

What a stupid comment ! Do you really think they will want to go back in there every day after what they went through ??  Also they got lost on the way in and came out sedated. Not very experienced are they ?

 

Oh a humour bypass  ?

[yellowboat]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

under the command of Narongsak

We can hope the people in Thailand and Hollywood pay tribute to this nimble minded, effective leader.  He, Tune and lawyer June are beacons of hope in Thailand's current dark history. 

[ZeVonderBearz]

Is there no levels these people won't stoop to? Jesus. I look forward to the Chinese Water Death themed wave pool to open up. 

[BobBKK]

5 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

We can hope the people in Thailand and Hollywood pay tribute to this nimble minded, effective leader.  He, Tune and lawyer June are beacons of hope in Thailand's current dark history. 

The same Mr Narongsak  who critisized Elon Musk, one of this worlds genius's?  I think your praise is mis-placed save it for the divers Dick Stanton etc. without the foreign teams the boys would be toast.

 

[HooHaa]

54 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

What a stupid comment ! Do you really think they will want to go back in there every day after what they went through ??  Also they got lost on the way in and came out sedated. Not very experienced are they ?

Come on man, you really cant be that blind to humour can you?

 

I pity you.

[Eligius]

I still think this is in poor taste - jumping all over the tourist dollar when the boys and coach are barely out of that cave and are still in hospital.

And in another article on Thaivisa, we read that 'Tourist onslaught is stressing out Thailand' - so what do they do? Add another 'tourist attraction'!

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

The same Mr Narongsak  who critisized Elon Musk, one of this worlds genius's?  I think your praise is mis-placed save it for the divers Dick Stanton etc. without the foreign teams the boys would be toast.

Many criticize  Musk, but for showing up and pitching in as he did, he does deserve thanks and lots of credit.   I never cared much for Musk until now.  If being critical or less than cordial to Musk is his only mistake, he is still worthy of praise. 

[bino]

I think the cave should be filled with dynamite and sealed forever, as a tribute to the children who almost died and spent terrifying days in the darkness fearing for their lives.

Also to prevent countless stupid tourists from ending up in the same situation.

[cmsally]

"Living museum" ??  The cave is a living museum , it has stood this way for thousands of years or more.

Or is it to become the type of museum that displays how some people are not intelligent enough to appreciate conservation and natural beauty.

[Oziex1]

The whole country is a living museum of how the world was 200 year ago.

[diddygq]

Coming to a theater near you!

 

[cheshiremusicman]

Let us hope that the whole area around the cave entrance etc is cleaned up and left in pristine condition.

[cmsally]

3 minutes ago, cheshiremusicman said:

Let us hope that the whole area around the cave entrance etc is cleaned up and left in pristine condition.

Better to give a definition of "pristine condition" ; don't want to leave that one open to interpretation!

[fantom]

I think a black leopard  on a leash next to a bubbling bowl of penis soup to add to the general ambience (see what I did there) would be a terrific drawcard.

 

As a matter of interest the chap and his chums including the cook who blasted their way through the wildlife in another national park, whatever happened to them?

 

As a final brain fart, what about reviving Pokoman? Should be a winner!

Edited July 12, 2018 by fantom

[lemonjelly]

So, the kids have to go into quarantine due to the plethora of nasty infectious diseases and fungal infections after being in the cave and now the clueless brigade in BKK want to turn it into another tourist trap.... ok.

[Small Joke]

World famous (already forgotten)  living Museum! blockbuster movies! Lucky Shrine!  next big tourist attraction! 

 

The place is farther north than Chiang Rai, smack on a drug cartel infested border.  There are better attractions than a dangerous hole in the middle of no where,  and they're just a few hours drive from ever popular Chiang Mai. 

 

It will return to deserved obscurity by dinner time. 

PS I wonder how many tonnes of ya ice made it across the border while the bib bosses were distracted harassing rescuers for permission to use drones. 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Small Joke

[fakename]

Just cant wait to start counting the money! If a few of these kids died, it would even be a bigger money maker. 

[CGW]

4 hours ago, cardinalblue said:

Doesn't man learn from previous mistakes like deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico where technology surpassed the cognitive abilities of humans to manage that technology. 

A little of topic, but referring to the above, this was simply just another instance of "human error" nothing more or less!