On the morning of March 21, Mr. Tran Dang Anh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Krong No district, confirmed that he would continue to issue documents prohibiting people and tourists from entering the Krong No volcanic cave area without permission. The decision was made after the discovery of the body of a male tourist inside the cave on March 19.
According to Mr. Anh, the Krong No volcanic cave belongs to the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark, has not been granted a visitor permit and is under strict management and protection.
The Krong No volcanic cave system has not been licensed for tourism exploitation.
Mr. Ngo Xuan Ha, Chairman of the People's Committee of Krong No district, said that recently, the authorities have been patrolling, posting warning signs, prohibiting organizations and individuals from entering the Krong No volcanic cave system without permission, to avoid encroachment and negative impacts on the resources of the volcanic cave system; archaeological sites and to avoid unfortunate incidents.
However, due to the complex terrain and wide distribution of the cave system, it is "very difficult" to monitor regularly, leading to the situation where people and tourists still arbitrarily enter and exit the cave area.
After the incident where a man died in a cave, the district government requested the People's Committees of Nam Da, Dak Dro, Dak Sor and Buon Choah communes to strengthen monitoring, inspection, record-keeping and administrative sanctions against violators.
Due to the complex terrain and wide distribution of cave systems, it is difficult to monitor people entering and exiting regularly.
Previously, on the afternoon of March 19, local people reported the discovery of a body in Cave C7, in Nam Tan village, Nam Da commune, Krong No district. The body was in the stage of decomposition, emitting a foul odor, and was suspected to have been dead for about a week.
Authorities initially identified the victim as a 38-year-old resident of Ho Chi Minh City. The accident occurred when the person was exploring a cave and fell 15-20 meters into a deep abyss, resulting in his death. The cause of the incident is being investigated by authorities.
C7 Cave is one of 50 caves in the Krong No volcanic cave system, with a tube shape of 1,066.5 m long, the longest and largest volcanic lava cave in Southeast Asia. Currently, this cave system has not been officially exploited for tourism.
