Emergency teams in Laos continued their efforts Monday to locate a different way into a water-filled cave system where two individuals have been missing for almost two weeks following severe storms that flooded the primary entrance and blocked access.
The pair has been unaccounted for since rescue efforts started last month in the mountainous terrain of Xaisomboun province, located roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Vientiane, the nation’s capital. Emergency workers have successfully brought out five of the original seven people who became stuck in the underground chamber.
Lee Kian Lie, a Malaysian diver participating in the rescue mission, explained that crews are working to remove water from the cave system.
“We will go into the suspected area to continue the search if the water level is lowered,” he told The Associated Press.
A separate rescue group is examining the opposite side of the cave structure, hoping to discover a dry pathway that might allow entry to where the missing individuals are thought to be located, he explained.
Emergency response teams from Laos and nearby Thailand have been collaborating for over a week. International divers from Finland, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, France and Australia have joined the effort.
Multiple members of the rescue operation previously participated in the complex 2018 cave emergency in northern Thailand that successfully freed 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach from a water-filled cave.
The Laos Rescue Volunteer for People group announced on its Facebook page that intense rainfall brought “massive amounts of water” flowing into the region, forcing teams to halt their work Sunday evening.
Kengkaj Bongkawong, who leads the Thai group Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin, explained that crews are also searching for air shafts from the surface that could offer another way into the cave.
Emergency workers suspect the two missing individuals are stuck in a deeper section of the cave than where the five survivors were initially located on Wednesday. However, the route to that location is described as extremely narrow and severely flooded.
The local residents reportedly went into the cave almost two weeks ago searching for precious minerals including gold when they became trapped by sudden flooding that cut off their exit route. Another villager managed to escape and notified authorities.
The first person was safely brought out on Friday, led through a tight flooded tunnel by a skilled diver. The other four emerged from the cave on Saturday after water levels dropped sufficiently for them to exit without assistance, rescue officials reported.
