After spending 44 hours looking for two novice monks lost in a cave in Phitsanulok's Noen Maprang district, rescuers yesterday found the teenagers four kilometres deep into the cave.

Novices Ta (Kanit Pulsawat) and Nat (Nattawuth Luangparo), both 17, had strayed from a tour group visiting Matcha Cave, part of the Phra Wang Daeng Cave attraction, on Wednesday afternoon.

They were very weak and dehydrated when they were found at 12.30pm.

As soon as they reached the cave's mouth and met some 50 relatives and rescue volunteers, they asked for water. Novice Nat broke into tears, while Novice Ta's parents, Pol and Boonsri Pulsawat, hugged each other tearfully.

Pol was so thankful that he prostrated himself to wai local resident Nan Mora, 45, who had led the search team.

A medical examination found the novices were so weak they needed a saline injection.

After two unsuccessful searches carried out by nearly 100 people from local agencies, Nan and three relatives of the novices decided to give it one more go yesterday at 8am, starting from the tour group's last stop at Matcha Cave.

They noticed footprints on the sand and followed them into the dark cave, calling the novices' names until they heard the boys' replies and located them four kilometres away.

Nan said they found out that the two novices - walking ahead of the group - took a wrong turn and became lost inside the cave. The boys said they walked aimlessly around the cave's path until they were found. Water was rising as the group walked back to the cave's mouth.

"I thought I was going to die there. It was so dark and we had only a lighter - no food or water at all. I drank from the cave's creek and burnt our rope so that we could see," said Ta.

He said they heard the villagers searching for them, calling their names, but the voices were far away and when they shouted back there was no reply.

"We tried to find our way out, but we instead walked deeper into the cave until we lay down with exhaustion," he added.

Nat told reporters he was happy to survive after feeling something had prevented them from being found. After their shouts to the searching villagers brought no response, they just lay down waiting to be found.

Pol said some villagers advised him to make an offering to the Buddha Shinnarat statue at Phra Thammat Cave that he would ordain as a monk for nine days in exchange for the safe return of his son. He did so and heard the good news 30 minutes after making the offering.

Noen Maprang district chief Kriengwich Krairopwimol said the incident provided a good lesson for cave or forest visitors to notify local officials about their visit and to ensure they had a guide to lead their group.

He said he would ask officials at Thung Salaeng Luang National Park - where the cave is located - to put up signs warning tourists to be more careful.

The Nation

PHITSANULOK