RESCUE WORKERS IN Laos said they have safely evacuated four villagers trapped in a flooded cave for 10 days, the day after another was successfully extracted.
Two men remain missing.
Lao and Thai rescue groups posted about the successful operation on social media, along with photos of the men lying on stretchers, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in foil blankets.
The villagers had reportedly entered the cave last week to look for valuable minerals before being trapped by flash flooding that blocked their way out.
One other villager escaped in time and alerted the authorities to the seven left behind.
Five of them – identified by their first names as Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen – were found alive on Wednesday.
Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People said on its Facebook page that the water level inside the cave receded low enough for them to leave with divers who had gone in to deliver food and water.
They said they will continue their search for the two who remain missing.
The first man was safely evacuated on Friday. According to rescuers, that operation took about 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 rising unsteadily to his feet.
As rescuers helped him away from the tunnel, one could be heard warning others to be careful because his hands were injured. He was then wrapped in a foil blanket and helped into a seated position.
Another video showed the man getting out from the cave’s entrance with a lamp strapped to his forehead.
He was walking unsteadily with the assistance of two men, who handed him over to other team members amid a waiting crowd.
The men had been supplied with water, soft food and foil blankets to keep them warm, although videos shot inside the cave suggested that their conditions continued to deteriorate.
Rescue teams from Laos and neighbouring Thailand were joined by Japanese and Malaysian colleagues.
Indonesian, French and Australian specialists also reportedly arrived at the site in a rugged area in the central province of Xaisomboun, about 120 kilometres north of the capital Vientiane.
Several of them had taken part in the complicated 2018 cave rescue in northern Thailand of 12 schoolboys and their football coach.
Rescuers are also preparing to search for the two villagers who remain missing.
Thai rescuer Kengkaj Bongkawong, of the Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin, said the team plans to explore an area deeper inside the cave, about 20 to 25 metres beyond where the survivors were found.
However, he cautioned that the section is heavily flooded.