Australian man critical after 11 days in Laos jungle
Posted
A Melbourne man is in a critical condition in a Bangkok hospital after getting stranded in the jungles of Laos for 11 days.
Forty-year-old Hayden Matthew Adcock started out on a short walk to the Tad Nam Sanam waterfalls in the eastern province of Khammouane on July 31.
But his trek turned into a marathon and unexpected stay, as torrential rain and flooding hit the area.
Staff at the hotel where Mr Adcock was staying in the town of Khoun Kham raised the alarm the next day when he did not return.
They notified the local officers from the national park who sent a group out to look for him but failed to locate him.
The Australian Embassy in Laos was notified of his disappearance on August 8 and sent a helicopter to search for him.
Even when the chopper spotted him it was unable to land in the rocky, heavily forested national park in the country's east.
And so Mr Adcock had to endure another day out in the elements.
He was eventually brought out over land, and then flown to Vientiane. He was then taken to Bangkok, where he was admitted to a local hospital.
National park officials have no idea how Mr Adcock was able to survive.
"I understand that he carried just one container of water. But we don't know if he was just strong enough to survive for 10 days or if there were other reasons he survived," provincial tourism department official Thaiyaphone Singthong told the ABC's translator via telephone.
"When we found him, he could not speak or give any information to our team."
Mr Thaiyaphone told the ABC that before he ventured into the park Mr Adcock was advised that under local rules, he needed a guide, but Mr Adcock went alone.
As many as 40 foreign tourists visit the area each week.
Mr Thaiyaphone says it is a very beautiful area with large trees and waterfalls, but he cautions visitors to heed local advice.
"Tourists who want to go to see the waterfalls should follow the rules of the national park. They should not go in alone. We need them to cooperate and follow the rules," he said.
Last week, the Australian Embassy in Laos put on a thankyou party for the locals who helped and has promised funding so that the park can post clearer signs.
A nurse at the Bangkok hospital where Mr Adcock is undergoing treatment, says he is suffering from sepsis, or blood poisoning, and skin infections from the many scrapes and cuts he received during his ordeal. He has not been taking visitors.
His family is expected to be in Bangkok in the next few days.
