Half a dozen rocks with an estimated weight of 50kgs each crashed down from the roof but fortunately missed the tourists. Some religious artefacts were damaged and the floor tiles around the cavern’s iconic Buddha statue cracked and broken.
The cave’s internal rockfall was blamed on heavy rainfall over the previous days. An inspection team led by governor Chatraporn Rajdusadee noted that the ground and tree roots close to the cave’s entrance had been loosened by the downpour and had in turn caused the rocks to subside and then drop.
12GO ASIA notes that Khao Luang is a popular sightseeing destination for Buddhists and foreign tourists. Once repairs have been carried out the cave will rejoin the list of top cultural attractions in Phetchaburi. It is only a few kilometres from Phetchaburi railway station.
Falling rocks lead to partial closure of Phetchaburi shrine cave
News in Asia
Trustees with jurisdiction over a popular shrine cave in Phetchaburi have cordoned off a central part of it due to the risk of falling rocks. The partial closure of Khao Luang Cave is a result of an incident on Sunday in which a visiting group of tourists from China were nearly flattened by cascading rocks.