TUNNELLING IN THE JUNGLE

摘要

SNAKE IDENTIFICATION IS NOT typically included on a site induction for a tunnelling project, but with more than 20 different types of snakes common to the remote jungle areas of the south of the Laos People's Democratic Republic, tunnellers from Seli Overseas had to be prepared for snake bites. The nearest minor hospital was two-and-a-half hours away by car, and the closest major hospital, over the western border in Thailand, around five hours away. "Scientists say that the most dangerous snakes in the world are in Laos. The most common is the viper. Then there is the cobra, which is very dangerous and many others," says Dario Vizzino project director for tunnel contractor Seli Overseas. "You have to use the right anti venom for specific snake. Some venoms make the blood coagulate, others affect neural pathways in the brain and stop respiration," he says.