Thailand has announced the reopening of the most renowned chamber within the Tham Luang Cave complex, marking five years since a teenage football team garnered global attention after being trapped in the caves for 17 days.
Guided tours of what is known as “Chamber 3” in the northern Thai cave system are set to be offered from Dec. 15 onwards, the Bangkok Post newspaper quoted the national parks authority as saying.
The chamber, which is located around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the entrance, served as the base of operations for the complex rescue operation by a team of special divers in 2018.
National Parks spokesperson Athapol Charoenchansa said that groups of 10 to 12 people were to be allowed to visit the chamber with a licensed guide. A maximum of five groups per day are permitted.
Visitors are to explore not only one of the world’s best-known cave complexes but also understand the extremely complicated rescue work required in 2018.
Since the incident, this part of the cave has been reserved for scientists and experts only. Tourists are currently only allowed a few hundred meters into the cave and only when the weather is dry.
In June 2018, the 12 teens from the Wild Boars football team and their coach failed to return to the surface after heavy rainfall suddenly flooded the cave.
The group was feared to have died after no signs of life were detected for the first nine days of searches when the group was discovered by cave divers 4 kilometers from the entrance.
The spectacular rescue ultimately became a race against time and drew the help of specialists from abroad and more than 1,000 volunteers. All those trapped were finally freed from the caves one by one.
The cave drama, which lasted a total of 17 days, has already been made into a film several times and adapted into many books. The site still attracts many visitors to this day.
The bicycles of some of the young footballers who left them there can still be seen at the entrance. The rescue operation is explained on display boards.
