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'World's biggest' cave uncovered | The Sun |News
'World's biggest' cave uncovered | The Sun |News
(April 30) - A BRITISH caving team believe they've discovered the world’s largest cave passage in the heart of the Vietnamese jungle.
Measuring 200m high and 150m wide the new cave, called Hang Son Doong — or Mountain River Cave — is believed to be almost twice the size of the current record holder.
Previously unexplored, the team believe Hang Son Doong is larger than the Deer Cave in Sarwark, Malaysia, which is 100m high and 90m wide.
Assisted by representatives from the Hanoi University of Science, the Joint British-Vietnamese Caving Expedition 2009, spent five days exploring the cave in Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Adam Spillane, a member of the 13-man expedition team, said: “It is a truly amazing sized cave and one of the most significant discoveries by a British caving team.
“The complete survey is at present being drawn up but initial estimates show the main passage to be 200m (656 feet) high in places and possibly greater in some sections.
“Much of the passage width is over 100m but certain sections are over 150m wide.”
Adam, whose team are now back in the UK analysing their readings, added: “The cave was originally discovered in 1991 by a Vietnamese Jungle man called Ho Khanh from Phong Nha village.
“Khanh has been a guide for the team in many expeditions to the jungle to explore caves and this year he took a team to the cave which had never been entered before by anyone including local jungle men.
“This was because the entrance which is small by Vietnamese cave standards (10m high and 30m wide) emitted a frightful wind and noise which was due to a large underground river.”
The team spent six hours trekking through the jungle to reached the cave. Climbing down into a large chamber, they had to negotiate two underground rivers before reaching the main passage of the Hang Son Doong.
They will return to Vietnam later in the year to complete the expedition of the cave and conduct a full survey.
Measuring 200m high and 150m wide the new cave, called Hang Son Doong — or Mountain River Cave — is believed to be almost twice the size of the current record holder.
Previously unexplored, the team believe Hang Son Doong is larger than the Deer Cave in Sarwark, Malaysia, which is 100m high and 90m wide.
Assisted by representatives from the Hanoi University of Science, the Joint British-Vietnamese Caving Expedition 2009, spent five days exploring the cave in Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Adam Spillane, a member of the 13-man expedition team, said: “It is a truly amazing sized cave and one of the most significant discoveries by a British caving team.
“The complete survey is at present being drawn up but initial estimates show the main passage to be 200m (656 feet) high in places and possibly greater in some sections.
“Much of the passage width is over 100m but certain sections are over 150m wide.”
Adam, whose team are now back in the UK analysing their readings, added: “The cave was originally discovered in 1991 by a Vietnamese Jungle man called Ho Khanh from Phong Nha village.
“Khanh has been a guide for the team in many expeditions to the jungle to explore caves and this year he took a team to the cave which had never been entered before by anyone including local jungle men.
“This was because the entrance which is small by Vietnamese cave standards (10m high and 30m wide) emitted a frightful wind and noise which was due to a large underground river.”
The team spent six hours trekking through the jungle to reached the cave. Climbing down into a large chamber, they had to negotiate two underground rivers before reaching the main passage of the Hang Son Doong.
They will return to Vietnam later in the year to complete the expedition of the cave and conduct a full survey.
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