Five villagers trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week were found alive, rescuers said Wednesday, while two others remained missing as the search continued in the rugged mountains of Xaisomboun province.
The villagers had entered the cave on May 19 in search of gold when heavy rain set off flash flooding that blocked the exit and trapped all seven inside. Bounkham Luanglath said five people were found safe and alive, and that two more were still missing. “I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” he said.
A video posted by a Thai rescue group appeared to show divers emerging from the water and finding the trapped villagers, who were sitting on a rock surrounded by floodwater. The cave is in Longcheng district, about 120 kilometres, or 75 miles, north of Vientiane, in an area where steep terrain and muddy ground have made the operation difficult from the start.
The rescue effort drew in some Thai cave rescue experts who took part in the 2018 operation that saved 12 young soccer players from a flooded cave in Thailand. Their experience proved valuable in a search complicated by dark tunnels, heavy rain and mountain roads that slowed access to the site.
Rescuers said the work was still not finished. Two villagers remained missing after the five were pulled to safety, and the search was set to continue in a place where the weather can turn a narrow cave into a trap in a matter of hours. For the families waiting above ground, the discovery of the five alive offered relief, but not an ending.
