The first of seven men trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for over a week has been brought to safety by divers, in a perilous rescue operation involving narrow, flooded tunnels and sharp rocks. The man is reported to be 'safe and sound'. Four men remain inside a chamber about 300 metres from the cave entrance, where they were found on Wednesday. Two men are still missing.
International diving teams, including some involved in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, have been working to retrieve the men. Reaching them required crawling through extremely narrow passages in muddy water with poor visibility. Rescuers have been pumping water from the cave, fearing further rains could inundate the tunnels.
Australian cave diver Josh Richards said rescuers plan to attempt to bring out the other four men tomorrow. He described the conditions as 'like diving in coffee', with unstable clay and mud walls. The team is using a two-pronged approach: pumping out water and, if unsuccessful, using scuba gear for the rescue.
Additional divers from Australia, Japan, France, Indonesia and Thailand were expected to arrive on Friday. A Malaysian diver joined on Thursday. Kengkard Bongkawong, head of operations for Metta Tham Rescue, confirmed one person had been brought out safely, with four awaiting assessment and the search for the two missing continuing tomorrow.
The search for the missing men is especially challenging, requiring diving through a 25-metre-long narrow tunnel with no space to turn. Heavy machinery is clearing a route to the remote cave in Xaisomboun province, which involves a 5km hike. The group entered the cave last Wednesday to search for gold ore and hunt, but were trapped by heavy rains that blocked the exit.
