The villagers who were rescued from a flooded cave in Laos have been helping an international team of divers search for the last two men still trapped inside.
The survivors who were freed on Saturday have been providing crucial details about the cave’s deeper passages from their hospital beds, helping come up with a new search and rescue plan.
Eight people entered the remote cave in Xaysomboun province on 20 May to hunt for wildlife and search for gold. One managed to escape as heavy rain triggered flash flooding and landslides, but seven became trapped as rising floodwaters and debris blocked the entrance to the cave.
A massive search and rescue effort was launched, which included international dive specialists from Thailand, Australia, and Japan.
The five villagers were found by divers on Wednesday last week. On Friday, the rescue divers evacuated the first of five villagers.
Evacuations for the other four survivors were suspended until Saturday because they were not yet fit to be moved, according to Chakkit Taengtang of the Sai Than Association, one of the Thai rescue groups involved in the operation.
Rescue teams spent Friday pumping water from the flooded cave system, though their efforts were hampered by a rainstorm in the morning. The trapped men were provided with drinking water, soft food and foil blankets to help keep them warm while they awaited rescue.
On Saturday, four more men emerged from the flooded cave after spending 10 days trapped underground. The four were able to walk and crawl out on their own before meeting divers who had been preparing to rescue them.
Rescuers had spent days pumping water from the cave system, successfully lowering water levels amid the ever-present fear that further rain could derail the operation.
The limestone cave lies in the foothills of a mining area near the remote village of Long Tieng, several hours from the nearest cities and accessible only by muddy roads made difficult by the rainy season.
Attention has now turned to the search for two villagers who remain missing. President of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association, Bounkham Luanglath, told The Vientiane Times earlier that he was “fairly confident” that the two men were still alive, “because there are no signs of death and there is no foul or stale odour, which is a positive sign”.
The rescue efforts faced fresh setbacks on Sunday when a drainage pump broke and heavy rain forced operations to be suspended.
Outside the cave, family members of the two missing men and residents of the area remain gathered, anxiously awaiting updates.
The incident has brought attention to a growing informal gold-mining economy in Laos, especially in remote areas where jobs are limited, and government oversight is weak.
Many people in these regions turn to small-scale gold prospecting as a way to earn money.