Rescuers free 4 men trapped in flooded cave in Laos, search for 2 still missing
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Rescuers in Laos said on Saturday that they safely rescued four villagers who had been trapped in a flooded cave for 10 days, a day after another man was successfully rescued.
Two men remained missing.
Rescue groups in Laos and Thailand posted about the success on social media, along with pictures of men lying on stretchers, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in blankets.
The villagers reportedly entered the cave last week in need of important minerals and were caught in the flood which blocked the way out. One resident escaped later and reported the remaining seven to the authorities.
The Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People said on its Facebook page that the water has gone down in the cave so much that they went with the divers who were delivering food and water. They said they will continue to search for the two missing people.
The first man was safely evacuated on Friday. According to the rescuers, the operation took about 30 minutes.
The first of five known survivors has been brought to light after being trapped in a remote cave in Laos for more than a week due to flooding. Divers are still searching for two others who are still missing.
Videos show him coming out of the water next to the diver, gasping for air before struggling to crawl through a narrow, flooded passageway and jerking to his feet. As the rescuers helped him out of the tunnel, one could be heard warning others to be careful because his hands were injured. He was then wrapped in a foil blanket and helped to stay in place.
Another video showed the man coming out of the cave entrance with a lamp tied to his forehead. He was walking unsteadily with the help of two men, who handed him over to other members of the group in the waiting crowd.
Five of the men were found alive on Wednesday. They were identified by their first names Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen.
The men were given water, soft food and blankets to keep warm, although videos taken from inside the cave suggest their condition continues to deteriorate.
Rescue teams from Laos and neighboring Thailand were joined by their Japanese and Malaysian counterparts. Indonesian, French and Australian experts are reported to have arrived at the site in rugged terrain in the central province of Xaisomboun, about 120 kilometers north of the capital, Vientiane.
Many of them were involved in the grueling 2018 cave rescue in northern Thailand for 12 schoolboys and their football coach.
More dangerous tasks await the rescuers.
In a video shot on Friday, about an hour before the first man’s rescue began, Thai rescuer Kengkaj Bongkawong of Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin described the challenge they faced in the process.
The team set up a station in a large chamber inside the cave, accessible only by navigating more than 200 meters of winding, narrow, flooded passageways with jagged walls. From there, divers had to dive through a flooded tunnel about 30 meters before reaching the trapped men.
“Dive in a cave, there are problems with temperature, narrow spaces, controlling movement and controlling the panic of the survivor, which will be difficult, but we have to do it,” said Kengkaj.
The survivors taught them to breathe underwater
There is great danger for the team in guiding the survivors without diving skills in totally invisible waters.
The video shows Thai diver Norrased Palasing and Finnish diver Mikko Paasi teaching the men how to use diving equipment, including breathing underwater.
In the search for the two villagers who are still missing, Kengkaj said the team plans to explore the area deep inside the cave, about 20 to 25 meters beyond where the survivors were found.
However, he warned that this section is full of water.
