Explorers of Vietnam and Germany have discovered a lava cave in the
southern province of Dong Nai, which they said is the longest of its
kind in Southeast Asia.
Scientists of the Vietnam
Institute of Tropical Biology and the Berlin Speleoclub of Germany made
the finding during a two-month survey of 11 lava caves in Dong Nai’s Tan
Phu and Dinh Quan districts.
Locally known as Hang
Doi ( Bat Cave ), the arch-shaped cave, located in Phu Loc commune,
Tan Phu district, comprises of two parts called Bat Cave No 1 and Bat
Cave No 2.
According to the exploring team, the
bigger part of the cave measures about 426 metres long, while the total
length of both parts is 534m. The region’s longest lave cave discovered
earlier was the 400m-long Gua Lawah in Indonesia .
The largest section of Bat cave is 4 metres high and 10 metres wide. The
cave got the name from the large number of bats which make the
arc-shaped cave their home.
German scientists say
they plan to make a full report of these findings, completed with maps
and descriptions of the cave complex, which will be published in the
club’s publication – Speleological Berlin Speleoclub.
Local authorities have called on people to protect the complex and stop
catching bats in the cave to preserve biological diversity of the site.-VNA