BANGKOK (AP) – Rescue workers in Laos announced on Saturday the successful evacuation of four villagers who had been trapped in a flooded cave for 10 days. This operation took place the day after the extraction of another villager, leaving two men still unaccounted for. The groups involved in the rescue included both Lao and Thai teams, who shared updates and images on social media, showcasing the villagers being removed from the cave on stretchers, equipped with oxygen masks and wrapped in foil blankets.
The villagers had entered the cave the previous week in search of valuable minerals but ended up trapped due to sudden flash flooding that blocked their exit. Fortunately, one villager managed to escape in time and informed the authorities about the six who were stranded inside.
According to the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, the efforts to rescue the villagers were boosted when the water levels receded sufficiently to allow divers to escort them out. They confirmed that the search would continue for the two missing men. The first rescue occurred on Friday and took approximately 30 minutes, during which video footage captured the moment the man surfaced next to a diver. Showcasing the difficult conditions, he appeared exhausted and injured as he crawled through a narrow, flooded tunnel.
Additional video footage depicted the rescued individual exiting the cave with a headlamp, requiring assistance from two rescuers as he made his way to safety amidst the gathering crowd. Five other villagers were discovered alive on Wednesday and were identified by their first names: Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing, and Laen. They were provided with essential supplies including water, soft food, and thermal blankets, but signs of their deteriorating conditions were apparent in videos shot inside the cave.
Rescue teams involving both Laotian and Thai personnel were later supplemented by specialists from Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, and Australia, many of whom had previously participated in the high-profile cave rescue of 12 schoolboys and their coach in northern Thailand in 2018.
As the rescue mission progressed, the teams faced numerous challenges. In a video recorded just before the evacuation began, Thai rescuer Kengkaj Bongkawong outlined the complexities of the operation. The team established a command station in a spacious chamber of the cave, accessible only after navigating more than 200 meters of convoluted, waterlogged corridors. From this station, divers had to swim through a submerged tunnel roughly 30 meters long to reach the trapped individuals.
Kengkaj highlighted the dangers involved in cave diving, such as navigating temperature variations, confined spaces, and managing the anxiety of the survivors, which can be particularly difficult in zero-visibility water conditions. Videos also captured Thai diver Norrased Palasing and Finnish diver Mikko Paasi teaching the villagers how to operate diving equipment, emphasizing proper breathing techniques underwater.
Rescuers are also gearing up to search for the two missing villagers. Kengkaj indicated the team's intention to investigate areas deeper within the cave, approximately 20 to 25 meters beyond where the rescued villagers were located, although he expressed concerns about severe flooding in that sector.
