5 of 7 people trapped in flooded cave in Laos for more than a week found alive, rescuers say
Bangkok – Five villagers trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week have been found alive, rescuers said Wednesday, but two others are missing.
Villagers entered a cave in Xaisomboun province on May 19, but heavy rain caused flooding that blocked the exit and left seven people dead, according to a team of Lao and Thai rescuers involved in the operation.
Video posted by a A Thai rescue team participated in the operation he was seen demonstrating when divers came out of the water and found the trapped residents. In the picture, the villagers, each holding a lamp, were sitting on a rock surrounded by floodwaters.
Mikko Paasi, the diver leading the rescue effort, told CBS News reporter Matt Gutman by phone from inside the cave Wednesday that he and his colleagues plan to continue searching for those still missing. Although they are still thinking about what to do next, Paasi said that the priority right now is to get food and water to the five people who were found alive, which will be difficult. He described the five as confused and unsure of where they are, but OK.
NORRASED PALASING/via Reuters
Other videos showed rescuers inside and outside the cave cheering, jumping and hugging happily after the discovery.
Paasi told Gutman that the best course of action in Laos would be to pump water into the cave to get everyone trapped inside. But there are concerns about the build-up of carbon dioxide in the small room where the five residents were found, and whether they are strong enough to make the tricky escape is unclear, he said.
Metta Tham Kalasin Rescue via Reuters 
Paasi is one of the divers involved in this rescue who also participated a complicated 2018 rescue in northern Thailand for 12 schoolboys and their football coach. They were trapped in the cave for more than two weeks before being safely extricated.
The cave is located in the rugged, remote Xaisomboun district of Longcheng, about 75 kilometers north of the capital, Vientiane. Rescuers at the scene described in detail on social media the challenging nature of the mountain and the heavy rain that disrupted their work.
Videos shared online by Thai rescuers showed that reaching the cave entrance required a steep hike of about 2.5 miles. The entrance is also steep and rocky, and not wide enough for one person to climb at a time.
A muddy hole in the dense forest kilometers from the road that used to be the entrance to the mine became the center of rescue operations.
It has never been officially confirmed why the villagers entered the cave. However, Bounkham Luanglath, of the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, said that the cave was often visited by local residents looking for gold, although the authorities had warned them many times to enter the cave for safety reasons.
