LURAY, Va. — LURAY, VA -- They were moved by the same marvels, descending into the depths of colossal caverns both in Thailand, and in secluded Shenandoah.
But in darkness, there was desperation, as a former Thai Navy diver died Friday in the latest attempt to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach.
The drama that captured the world’s attention was not lost on the tourists at the most-visited cave on the East Coast, with families following guides past immense, illuminated stalactites within Luray Caverns.
There are few who have experienced all the artificial lights turned off in Luray, a cave where calcite cathedrals descend into darkness when the last crowds come above ground.
But in an interview on Friday, a spokesman for the World Heritage site said the experience throws off the senses, delivering a small sense of the isolation, confusion and panic the Thai group felt before divers discovered them alive.
“The darkness is disorienting, it can really affect your body,” said Bill Huffman as tour groups descended 164-feet below ground. “Constant pitch-black with no idea what direction you’re moving can wear on you for sure.”
But the caverns in Virginia and Thailand are separated by a multitude of qualities, making rescue efforts 8,000 miles away immensely more challenging.
The Tham Luang cave complex floods during the summer monsoon season, with signs warning groups to stay away from the dangerous rock formations.
Huffman described the setting in Thailand as a “wild cave,” contrasted with a safe “show cavern” found in Luray.
Air levels within the Thai cave have also dipped dangerously low for the boys and their soccer coach. According to the BBC, officials said oxygen within the soccer team’s small refuge dipped to 15 percent, down from the usual 21 percent.
Depth has posed perhaps the greatest challenge, with the Tham Luang enclave more than 2,000 feet below the surface of a mountain. The deepest section of Luray lies only 16 stories underground.
Even if the entrance to Luray Caverns was shut, micro fissures within the expansive complex allow air to freely permeate throughout the underground area. Luray also does not flood, with groundwater naturally collecting elsewhere.
“The tragedy of course is on all of our minds, because these caves are what we live every day,” Huffman said. “But this is a place of beauty, fortunately free from peril that has put these boys in so much danger.”
