Rescue teams in the Southeast Asian country of Laos reported this Saturday (30) that they safely removed four residents who were trapped for 10 days in a flooded cave. Another man had already been successfully rescued the day before. Two remain missing.
Rescue groups from Laos and Thailand posted on social media about the successful operation, along with photos of survivors lying on stretchers, wearing oxygen masks and covered in thermal blankets.
According to reports, residents entered the cave last week in search of valuable minerals, but were trapped after a flash flood blocked the exit. Another resident managed to escape in time and alerted authorities about the seven who remained inside the cave.
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The five rescued men had been found there on Wednesday (27), but the water level made their removal impossible.
The Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People reported on its Facebook page that the water level inside the cave had dropped enough for the survivors to leave accompanied by divers, who had already brought food and water to them. They also said they will continue the search for the two missing.
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The first survivor was removed from the cave on Friday (29). According to rescuers, this operation took around 30 minutes. Videos showed the moment he emerged from the water alongside a diver, catching his breath before struggling to crawl through a narrow, flooded passage and struggle to his feet.
As rescuers helped him out of the tunnel, one of them warned others to be careful as his hands were injured. Then he was wrapped in a thermal blanket and helped to sit up.
Another video showed the man emerging from the cave with a flashlight strapped to his forehead. He walked with difficulty, helped by two men, who handed him over to other team members in front of a crowd waiting at the scene.
The five survivors were identified only by their first names: Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen.
The men had been given water, light food and thermal blankets to keep warm, although videos recorded inside the cave suggested their physical conditions were deteriorating.
Rescue teams from Laos and Thailand were supported by experts from Japan and Malaysia. Professionals from Indonesia, France and Australia also arrived at the venue. The cave is in a rugged area of the central Xaisomboun province, about 120 kilometers north of the capital, Vientiane.
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Several of them took part in the complex cave rescue in northern Thailand in 2018, which involved 12 boys and their football coach.
Team must search for missing people in deep part of the cave
In a video recorded on Friday, about an hour before the evacuation of the first survivor began, Thai rescuer Kengkaj Bongkawong, from the Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin team, detailed the challenges that would be faced in the operation.
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The team set up base in a large chamber within the cave, accessible only after traversing more than 200 meters of narrow, winding, flooded passages with jagged walls. From that point, divers still need to travel through an underwater tunnel of about 30 meters to reach the survivors.
“Cave diving involves issues such as temperature, narrow spaces, movement control and managing survivor panic, which will be difficult, but we have to do it,” Kengkaj said.
One of the biggest risks for the team is taking survivors without diving skills through waters with practically zero visibility.
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A video showed Thai diver Norrased Palasing and Finnish diver Mikko Paasi teaching survivors how to use diving equipment and breathing techniques underwater.
“During the entire journey, only breathe through your mouth. Never breathe through your nose, understand?”, instructed Norrased during the training.
Teams are also preparing to search for the two residents still missing.
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According to Kengkaj, the plan is to explore a deeper area of the cave, between 20 and 25 meters beyond where the survivors were found. However, he warned that the stretch is quite flooded.
