Warning: This article contains images and discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
If you’re claustrophobic look away now, as we’re about to delve into the story of a farmer who found himself lodged inside a tiny cave opening for several days.
Back in August 2019, a Cambodian farmer named Sum Bora was gathering bat poo to use as crop fertiliser when he found himself trapped in a rocky grave in the country’s Phnom Proek district.
For those who are wondering what collecting bat poo has to do with farming the waste product, known as guano, is widely used as a natural fertiliser as it contains essential nutrients for plant growth.
Harvesting guano is also considerably cheaper than purchasing fertiliser, meaning it’s a no-brainer for many farmers across the world.
But heading into caves to collect bat droppings isn’t without its pitfalls, as Bora would discover.
Bora had headed out to the region’s Chakrai Mountain for his fateful harvesting run as he knew the area’s caves contained plenty of bats – and therefore guano – particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
However, this is where disaster would strike.
While harvesting, Bora dropped his torch into a crevice and attempted to retrieve it – only to become stuck in the six-inch wide space himself.
Considered an expert in guano collecting by his friends and family, it wasn’t unusual for Bora to be out harvesting for multiple days. This meant that he could do nothing but wait in agony until friends and family raised the alarm.
Bora would ultimately be found by his brother after a fellow farmer who was aware of his excursion alerted the family to his possible location.
After following human cries from within the cave Bora’s brother was able to locate him in the tiny crevice but was unable to pull him out, meaning the farmer had to wait until specialist teams could reach him.
After four days of being stuck in a cold, pitch-black cave rescuers were finally able to free the farmer, following a specialist 10-hour rescue operation.
He was later taken to hospital, suffering from head, chest and knee injuries.
Later recounting his story, Bora stated that he had been ‘wishing for death’ during the days he spent in the case and that he would’ve ended his own life if he’d been able to.
“I had lost hope of staying alive,” he told the Khmer Times newspaper.
District police chief Lieutenant Sareth Viseth added that the public had since been banned from climbing in the mountain’s cave systems in order to avoid any further incidents.
“It is dangerous to collect the bat faeces on the mountain,” he said.