Five of the seven gold prospectors trapped for more than a week inside a flooded cave in Laos have been rescued alive, emergency teams said on Wednesday.
Rescue workers found the men safe and well after days of searching, the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People and the Thai rescue unit MTK said.
Search efforts for two other missing men were continuing.
A total of 10 men entered a cave in the mountainous Longchaeng district of Xaisomboun province on May 19 to dig for gold. It lies about 130 kilometres north-east of the capital Vientiane.
While three workers managed to escape, seven others were trapped after heavy rainfall flooded the entrances and exits of the cave.
The Lao government requested assistance from Thailand, whose emergency services gained international recognition during the 2018 rescue of a youth football team trapped inside the Tham Luang cave complex.
