Rescue operations in Laos are showing promising signs as teams work around the clock to reach seven individuals who have been stuck underground for nearly a week, according to the mission leader.
The group became stranded inside a cave located in Laos’ central Xaisomboun province on May 20 when heavy rainfall caused a landslide that blocked their path out, local rescue organizations and state-run Lao Phattana News reported.
International assistance arrived Sunday when a Thai rescue squad joined the mission, bringing expertise that has led to major advances in reaching the chamber where the trapped individuals are believed to be located.
“From this moment on, I believe our success is not far away,” said Kengkard Bongkawong, who leads the rescue operation, in a statement posted to social media Monday.
The rescue effort is being conducted in partnership with a local organization called the Laos Rescue Volunteer for People, which reported that the seven people had gone into the cave system while searching for gold. Attempts to contact the country’s disaster management agency were unsuccessful.
Video shared on the Facebook account of Lao Phattana News revealed the challenging conditions facing rescuers, showing helmet-wearing team members crawling through narrow passages by flashlight, struggling to breathe, while others moved slowly through muddy water that reached their chests in the cave’s depths.
Among the rescue personnel is a diver who participated in the 17-day mission at a flooded mountain cave in Thailand during 2018 that drew worldwide attention, when experts from multiple countries, including American military forces and Thai Navy SEALs, converged on Chiang Rai province to free a youth soccer team called the “Wild Boars.”
Kengkard, who leads a volunteer emergency response organization in northeastern Thailand, announced that water removal operations would proceed continuously, following the team’s breakthrough of sand and rock barriers that brought them closer to an underwater passage they believe will provide access to the trapped group.
He reported that an examination of the terrain above the cave system identified four potential shafts that might connect to the underground network and offer an alternative rescue route.
“We estimate that less than 20 metres remain before we reach the key target area,” he stated.
