Diving experts unveil new mysteries inside Son Doong Cave
By Van Anh
April 11, 2019 | 08:25 AM GMT+7
A totally new cave system has been discovered during a diving expedition inside Son Doong – the world’s largest cave.
An underground cave system was found located at a depth of over 60 metres and tended to open up wider to the end, diving experts revealed at a recent press briefing in Hanoi on expedition in the underground river inside Son Doong Cave.
With this new cave, the depth of Son Doong in central province of Quang Binh has increased to over 500 metres in total and yet to be confirmed.
This expedition was undertaken by Oxalis Company Limited, the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) and the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Management Board.
The diving exploration team includes five best cave diving experts in the world, namely a BCRA specialist, three members from the rescue team of the Wild Boar football team in Thailand in 2018, and a diving equipment coordinator for the expedition.
The underground river in Son Doong Cave. Photo by Oxalis.
According to Howard Limbert, an expert of the British Royal Caving Research Association, this expedition was to find out the connection between Son Doong Cave and Hang Thung Cave which are 600 metres apart.
However, when failing to conduct a dive to the depth of 77 metres, diving expert Jason Mallinson, an expedition team member, found the new cave system while the depth of the cave tended to extend.
The expedition may inspire cave experts with various potential and new discoveries awaiting. In the meantime, Phong Nha - Ke Bang remains as a mystery to explorers, researchers and scientists.
The new cave system is the third level of Son Doong Cave apart from the known high dry level and the underground river level.
Cave diving expert Jason stated that his team will return to Son Doong in the near future with better diving equipment to further explore this mystery.
Son Doong Cave is located in the heart of the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province of Central Vietnam.
At over 5 kilometre long, with sections reaching up to 200 metre tall and 150 metre wide, Son Doong Cave is large enough to house an entire New York City block, complete with 40 storey skyscrapers.
With a total measured volume of 38.5 million cubic metres, this comfortably surpasses Deer Cave in Malaysia, which was considered to be the previous record holder.
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