Two British teenage girls are rescued after spending the night lost in snake-infested Thai jungle 

Two missing British teenage girls have been rescued after spending the night lost in the snake-infested Thai jungle.

Eliza Keeping and Matilda Cox, both 19 from Buckinghamshire, were staying at a resort in Surat Thani province in the south of the country when they went for a walk yesterday afternoon.

Worried staff at the Coco Hostel Khao Sok, a set of floating bamboo raft rooms, called the police when the two girls had not returned by 9pm.

Two missing British teenage girls have been rescued after spending the night lost in the snake-infested Thai jungle (pictured after they were found this morning)

Eliza Rose Keeping, 19, from Brill, Buckinghamshire, and Matilda Rose Adelaide Cox, 19, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, were staying at a resort in Surat Thani province

The British pair went for a walk yesterday afternoon but did not return to their hotel last night

Rescue teams were immediately notified of the missing youngsters amid fears they could have been injured in the sprawling woodland or fell into the lake.

Neither of the girls could be contacted on their mobile phones. 

Frantic park rangers and local volunteers launched a search for the girls throughout the night in the vast Khao Sok National Park.

They were found soaking wet, exhausted and covered in mud the next morning at around 9am. 

Frantic park rangers and local volunteers launched a search for the girls throughout the night in the vast Khao Sok National Park

They both thanked the rescue team for finding them and said they were ‘scared’ when they could not find their way back after dark.

Terdthai Kwantong, head of the Khao Sok National Park, said: ‘I led a team of officers to search the area all night until 7am the next morning. There was still no missing person found.

‘Officials planned to search back along the same route again but fortunately, the resort operator called and said they had brought the tourists back to their accommodation.

The Khao Sok National Park is a sprawling 285 square mile area of evergreen rain forests older than the Amazon

‘Both of the girls were in a state of exhaustion but they were healthy. They were relieved to be safe.’

The Khao Sok National Park is a sprawling 285 square mile area of evergreen rain forests older than the Amazon. 

There are huge limestone mountains, deep valleys, lakes, caves and wild animals – including snakes, lizards and bats.