Rescuers evacuate the first of 5 villagers found trapped in a cave in Laos; 2 still missing
Rescue workers from several countries are pumping water from the cave as they search for two missing villagers and prepare to evacuate the remaining survivors.
- Rescue divers in Laos safely evacuated the first of five local villagers trapped in a flooded cave for over a week on Friday night. Lao and Thai rescue workers posted video confirmation of the successful evacuation on social media.
- Seven gold miners entered the cave last week searching for valuable minerals before flash flooding from monsoon rains blocked their exit. One villager escaped in time and alerted authorities to the seven people trapped inside.
- Monsoon season creates a "ticking clock," lead rescue diver Mikko Paasi told CBS News, adding "The environment is so hostile that anything can happen." The cave system is filled with murky water, dead ends, and knife-sharp rocks.
- Two villagers remain missing while rescue teams face the difficult task of extricating the others. Josh Morris, who led a previous cave rescue in Thailand in 2018, warned that moving people in such conditions carries "very high risk."
- Scuba extraction remains "the last option," Paasi stated, because it places both miners and rescuers at "quite high risk." Five days of pumping efforts have failed to clear water from the cave passages, leaving teams to consider alternative extraction methods.
145 Articles
145 Articles
The Toronto Star
Rescuers work to free 4 men who remain trapped in flooded Laos cave and search for 2 still missing
BANGKOK (AP) — Rescue workers in Laos Saturday worked to safely free the villagers found alive in a flooded cave after being trapped there for 10 days, a day after the first of the five survivors was safely evacuated.
Rescuers Pull First Trapped Person From Flooded Laos Cave
A team of specialist divers said they pulled one man from a flooded cave in central Laos on Friday, as four more people remained trapped with two others still missing. Seven Lao nationals had entered the cave in Xaisomboun province to prospect for gold, but their exit was blocked, leaving them trapped for more than a week. Video footage showed rescuers guiding a mud-smeared man wearing a headlamp from the tight cave entrance. Reuters had no…
First Villager Trapped in Cave Is Evacuated
Rescue divers in Laos on Friday night safely evacuated the first of five villagers who had been trapped in a cave for more than a week by floodwaters. Lao and Thai rescue workers posted the news on social media, along with a video showing the first rescued villager with a...
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