Group of 69 students stuck in the jungle for 2 days in western Thailand

A group of 69 student volunteers camping in the middle of Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand were safely evacuated by a team of local residents after getting stuck in the dense Thai jungle for two days. Several days of heavy rain caused flash flooding which blocked their only route out of the jungle by car.

The students went camping having finished their volunteer work at Kong Mong Tha school in Sangkhla Buri district, where they delivered resources to improve the school’s library. The group planned to leave on May 20, but couldn’t drive back out the way they came in due to rapidly rising water levels and strong currents in the flooded Roki river.

District chief Suthiporn Siwavet asked local residents to help get the students back to safety. The director of Kong Mong Tha school, alongside teachers and local residents, worked…