Rescue teams in Laos have located five people alive inside a flooded\ncave. They had been trapped for a week due to heavy rainfall and\nlandslides. Two others from the group remain missing, according to\nLaotian and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.<\/p>\n
The seven individuals were from Xaysomboun Province in central Laos\nand entered the cave last Wednesday. They were searching for gold\ndeposits and wildlife but were unable to exit as the entrance was\nblocked.<\/p>\n
Rescue team videos show divers crawling through narrow, muddy\npassages almost entirely submerged in water. Bounkham Luanglath of\nRescue Volunteer for People told the Associated Press that the search\nfor the two missing individuals would continue. \u2018I\u2019m still shaking,\u2019 he\nsaid in a voice message. \u2018Our team has succeeded.\u2019<\/p>\n
The cave system, stretching deep underground, is extremely narrow,\nwith some sections only 50 cm wide, according to rescuers. Rescue\nVolunteer for People stated in a social media post: \u2018We have found five\npeople alive and safe. Two others are still being searched for.\u2019<\/p>\n
Thai rescuer Kengkach Bangkawong wrote on Facebook that the survivors\nwere found at 4:30 pm local time. Finnish rescue specialist Mikko Paasi\npreviously stated on Wednesday that teams had to \u2018navigate hundreds of\nmetres of constant narrow passages, floodwater, potential collapses, and\nhigh risk of contaminated air\u2019 in the cave, which he described as an\n\u2018abandoned gold mine\u2019. He estimated the seven individuals were trapped\nabout 300 metres from the exit.<\/p>\n
Government media reported that the group entered the cave, located\napproximately 120 kilometres north of Vientiane capital, last\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
\u2018No one owns the area,\u2019 said a Laotian rescuer named Baeng, who\nrequested anonymity for security reasons, according to AFP. \u2018Local\nresidents often come here to dig pits and search for food.\u2019<\/p>\n
Kengkach was part of the team that successfully evacuated 12 Thai\nboys and their football coach after they were trapped for two weeks in a\nflooded cave beneath a mountain in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, in\n2018. The extraordinary rescue operation involved over 10,000 experts\nfrom various countries and drew global attention. Several films and\ndocumentaries were made about the incident, including the feature film\n\u2018Thirteen Lives\u2019 and the documentary \u2018The Rescue\u2019.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/five-rescued-from-flooded-cave-after-week-long-ordeal-1780015461", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }