The mission to save seven villagers trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos was not finished yet as rescuers still had to bring them out while ensuring adequate oxygen supply, the head of a Thai crew assisting with the operation said.
The villagers had entered the remote cave in Xaysomboun province on 19 May hunting for wildlife and gold. They were trapped after heavy rain triggered flash flooding and landslides, blocking the entrance to the cave.
On Wednesday, rescuers located five of the men inside, alive and sitting on a rock. Two are still missing.
On Thursday, Thai rescue specialist Kengkard Bongkawong, who participated in the dramatic 2018 mission to save young Thai footballers from a flooded cave, said the next step was to “escort all five people out of the cave”, which was not going to be an easy task.
He said rescuers could not overlook the very narrow passage that stretched several hundred metres and included a 27m stretch that was completely underwater.
“The main dangers are running out of air and getting stuck, so we need a watertight safety and rescue backup plan ready to go instantly,” he wrote on Facebook.
“We need to borrow as many oxygen tanks as possible and want to set up an oxygen refilling station in front of the cave.”
Mr Bongkawong said they would continue searching for the two missing men and urged their families not to lose hope.
The first images of the men trapped inside the cave showed five of them sitting on a rocky ledge surrounded by water. The men, wearing headlamps, smiled and folded their hands and bowed in gratitude to rescuers.
After learning that the men had been found, rescue crews working aboveground were seen jumping with joy and hugging one another in scenes posted on social media.
"I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen," Bounkham Luanglath, a member of the Lao rescue team, said in a voice message to the Associated Press. He said the search for the missing would continue.
To reach the trapped men, rescuers navigated a complex 340m stretch of tunnel, according to Metta Tham Kalasin, one of the groups involved in the operation.
Some areas of the cave are pitch black, partially flooded and extremely narrow, with a width of roughly 23 inches. Rescuers said they had to tilt and squeeze through the tunnel, at times removing equipment in order to get through the tight sections.
Since some sections are completely submerged in water and two narrow for two-way traffic, rescuers must keep in constant communication so as not to cross paths.
The men have been trapped for nine days now. The incident has brought back memories of the 18-day operation to find and rescue 12 teenage footballers from the Tham Luang caves in Thailand in 2018.
