A dramatic rescue operation is underway inside a flooded cave in central Laos where a group of five locals have become trapped underground, as divers race against time and frigid temperatures to rescue them to safety.
One of those in a flooded cave in Laos was rescued safely this Friday, one of the rescuers announces.
The survivor was removed from the flooded chamber during the night (it’s another six hours in Laos), guided by a rescue diver from a multinational team.
Four other people remain inside the cave and are awaiting assessment before evacuation, Kengkad Bongkawong, head of the Metta Tham Kalasin rescue team, wrote on Facebook.
The search for the two missing people will resume on Saturday.
A dramatic rescue operation is underway inside a flooded cave in central Laos where a group of five locals have become trapped underground, as divers race against time and frigid temperatures to rescue them to safety.
Rescuers wait alongside several ambulances, ready to transport the victim.
These are the challenges of the rescue operation:
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The journey to the entrance is slow and dangerous, with experienced divers taking up to two hours to cover the entire route;
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Rescuers inside the cave have been training trapped residents in the use of diving equipment, helping them into wetsuits and teaching them how to move through underwater passages, holding on to the legs of experienced divers who guide them in the darkness;
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Conditions underground are dangerous: the water is freezing, visibility is poor and the narrow, flooded chambers — some just 60 centimeters, the width of a standard refrigerator — do not allow for mistakes.
According to authorities, the five men ventured into the cave more than a week ago, lured by the promise of gold deposits.
Torrential rain caused flash flooding within the cave system and blocked the men’s exit. Two other people are believed to have entered the cave previously, with no connection to the five, and remain missing.
