IT WAS one of the last unexplored places on earth; a terrifying 1.5km deep gully in the heart of the Borneo jungle. It was the ultimate challenge - to climb down into it and explore what the locals called The Place Of The Dead.

Based on a true story which made headlines around the world, The Place Of The Dead is a story of men pushed to the limit and beyond, battling against forces they could not comprehend.

In February 1994, seven British and three Hong Kong Chinese soldiers began an ascent of Mt Kinabalu, at 4300m the highest peak in South-East Asia. Ahead of them lay a hard climb, then a series of dramatic abseils into Low's Gully. They were plunging into the unknown. Many had tried to navigate the gully - including the Japanese during their occupation of Borneo in the Second World War - but none had ever survived the torturous journey.

Hemmed in by impenetrable jungle and strewn with gigantic boulders and huge waterfalls along its course, the gully was believed by surrounding villagers to be inhabited by the spirits of their dead. It was a mysterious, almost holy place which they never dared enter.

he operation, officially classified by the British Army as "adventure training", was Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neill's idea, a career soldier who had been obsessed with the gully since learning of its existence more than a decade before.

His plan was to take a team of relatively inexperienced troops from his own Army corps, rather than allow skilled climbers from the combined services to grab the glory. Three untried and untested soldiers from Hong Kong would make up the party of 10.

Weeks later, Neill had time to reflect on this decision and of the 10 lives that it had now left hanging by a thread. Had a rescue operation been mounted? Would they ever find him and his men in there?

Within days of setting out for the gully Neill had started to lose control, his expedition being ripped apart by personality clashes, suspicion and racism. It was as if the gully was starting to exert an evil influence on the would-be intruders.

Greg Wise, Simon Dutton and Timothy West (pictured on cover) star in the drama/documentary about the adventure of a lifetime that became a journey into hell. Viewers will recognise West, who also stars in Cuts, currently on TV1.

Tony Purnell, of Britain's Daily Mirror, wrote: "You shared the perils from the safety of your armchair, looking helplessly on . . . Stamina and stiff upper lips ran out with the rations. Macho men were reduced to tears."

Copyright 1997 Wellington Newspapers Limited

Thanks to Missy for the find!