Howard Limbert, an expert of the British Royal Caving Research Association (BCRA), announced that 12 new caves have been found in the central province of Quang Binh during their exploration in early 2020.
A total of 10,491 metres of caves have been found by the BCRA team in Vietnam. The team of 11 experts had made an expedition plan from March 3 to 20 in Quang Binh. They were divided into two groups to different areas to survey new caves in Bo Trach, Quang Ninh and Minh Hoa districts.
Those newly-discovered caves are relatively large in length, with Nuoc Ngam (2,4 miles), Phu Nhieu (1,25 miles), Nuoc Lan (0,7 miles). However, there are some that are shorter, which measure around 0,03 miles to 0,08 miles.
Besides, due to strict military requirements, the crew couldn’t discover several new caves in Le Thuy district, which they believe have potential tourism development. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
During the expedition, they have found and named 12 caves. They are 554.6m-long Doc Co Cave, 51.5m End Cave and 413m Dry Vom Cave in Bo Trach, 3,872m Nuoc Ngam Cave, 1,919m Nuoc Lan 3 Cave, 460m Hung Thoai Cave and 100m Coincidental Cave in Quang Ninh.
Howard (pictured), leader of the expedition team, embarks on his explorative journey in a new cave.
“Quang Binh’s cave exploration program is a great success despite many difficulties. The total length of the new caves this time has just been discovered and is measured up to 10,5 km (6,52 miles)”, Howard said. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
Minh Hoa District has 194.8m Horned Viper or Phu Nhieu 2 Cave, 2,012m Phu Nhieu 4 Cave, 314m Cha Ra Cave, 137m Thoang Lip Cave and many caves with underground rivers.
One member of BCRA (pictured)
Expedition in Quang Binh is an annual program of the BCRA. This time, the team discovered the largest number of new caves within 20 days. In 2016, the expedition team found a total of 57 new caves in the area.
Cave system in Quang Binh has always been a surprise to the explorer experts. Last year, an underground cave system was discovered at a depth of 0.03 miles, the deeper the cave is, the wider it expands. The discovery made Son Dong a much more mysterious cave to experts and scientists. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
According to the experts, the limestone formations at the new caves include stalactites, stalagmites, columns and flowstones.
“This time, the expedition team from BCRA has 11 members lead by Howard, one forest ranger and 5 porters”, Mr. Nguyen Chau A, director of Oxalis Company that exploits Phong Nha’s cave system, said. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
The caves didn’t have any human traces.
In the picture is Loong Coong cave, located on top of Son Doong Cave. The only way to reach the cave is to hang down with a rope for around 0.05 miles. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
This year’s expedition marks the 30th anniversary of cave exploration in Vietnam. Commemorative workshops and conferences are also planned. However, all are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Howard Limbert)
Translated by Jasmine Le
@ VNE/ Vietnamnet/ Nguoilaodong/Dtinews