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Five villagers stuck in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week have been found alive, rescuers have confirmed, but two others remain missing.
The villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province to look for gold on May 19, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit and trapped seven people, according to Laos and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.
Bounkham Luanglath of the Laos organisation Rescue Volunteer for People, which has been working closely with local authorities in the rescue efforts, told The Associated Press that five people were found safe and alive, but two more are still missing, and the search will continue for them.
“I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” he said in a voice message.
A video posted by a Thai rescue group involved in the mission appeared to show the moment divers emerged from the water and discovered the trapped villagers. In the footage, the villagers, each wearing a headlamp, were sitting on a rock surrounded by floodwater.
Some Thai cave rescue experts who took part in the dramatic 2018 rescue of 12 young soccer players from a flooded cave in a remote corner of Thailand have joined the effort, news agency AFP reported.
Footage posted online showed rescuers making their way through dark, claustrophobic tunnels – some full of muddy water.
Luanglath revealed one of the people from the group escaped before the exit was blocked, and alerted authorities. He said the cave was a narrow chamber often visited by villagers searching for gold deposits, and that authorities had repeatedly warned people against entering the cave out of safety concerns.
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