Missing forest rangers on illegal mining patrol found safe

KANCHANABURI – Three forest rangers from Thong Pha Phum National Park who went missing while patrolling for illegal gold mining were found safe in the Pilok mountains on Wednesday.

At 8.40am, the park launched a search operation for the three rangers, aged 29, 31 and 44, with helicopter support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Contact with the trio was lost on Tuesday while they were patrolling a forest route as part of a crackdown on alleged illegal gold mining in the mountainous area of Pilok district.

The targeted gold-mining site was on a steep, remote mountain about 4 kilometres from the Thai-Myanmar border, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

At around 11am, the search team reported that the rangers had been found safe after being stranded in a remote area of the forest.

The rangers were unable to return as scheduled due to continuous heavy rain, with flash flooding and strong currents preventing them from continuing along their route.

They were evacuated by helicopter.

Reports said two of the missing rangers were newly recruited, while the third was an experienced ranger familiar with the area.