Five villagers trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos for more than a week have been found alive by rescue divers, while the search continues for two others still missing, Wowktv reports.
The men became trapped on May 19 after flash flooding blocked the exit of the cave in Xaisomboun province in central Laos.
Among the rescuers is Finnish diving instructor Miiko Paasi, who is based in Thailand and previously took part in the dramatic 2018 Thailand cave rescue of 12 schoolboys and their football coach.
Paasi joined Thai and Lao rescue teams searching the flooded cave system and later said on social media that the five survivors were “healthy and in good spirits”.
However, he also warned that bringing them safely out of the cave would not be easy.
Videos shared by rescue teams showed the trapped men sitting on a rock surrounded by floodwater as divers reached them with food and water.
“I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” Lao rescuer Bounkham Luanglath told AP in a voice message.
The cave is located in a remote mountainous area around 120 kilometres north of the Lao capital Vientiane. Rescue teams have faced difficult conditions due to heavy rain, steep terrain and narrow cave passages.
According to local rescuers, the cave is sometimes entered by villagers searching for gold despite safety warnings.
