Two missing British girls feared dead when they were reported missing after getting lost in a snake-infested Thai jungle were eventually found safe.
Eliza Keeping and Matilda Cox, both 19, were holidaying in a resort in the Surat Thani province when they decided to take a walk yesterday afternoon.
When they had not returned by 9pm, staff at the Coco Hostel Khao Sok raised the alarm.
Rescue teams made of park rangers and volunteers searched all night for the missing pair amid fears they had been injured or attacked by the wildlife.
Neither were answering their phones so teams spent hours scouring the dangerous Khao Sok National Park.
To their relief, the teenagers were found soaking wet, exhausted and covered in mud the next morning, twelve hours after they were reported missing.
Terdthai Kwantong, head of the Khao Sok National Park, said: “I led a team of officers to search the area all night until 7:00 am the next morning. There was still no missing person found.
“Officials planned to search back along the same route again but fortunately, the resort operator called and said they had brought the tourists back to their accommodation.
“Both of the girls were in a state of exhaustion but they were healthy.
“They were relieved to be safe.”
The Khao Sok National Park is a sprawling 285 square mile area of evergreen rain forests older than the Amazon.
It hides huge limestone mountains, deep valleys, lakes, caves and wild animals – including snakes, lizards and bats.
