Rescue workers on Tuesday were fighting to save the lives of seven villagers who have been trapped for days in a flooded cave in northern Laos after searching for gold, with specialist teams from neighbouring Thailand supporting the difficult mission.
The rescue operation is being hampered by rising waters, narrow passages and a lack of oxygen.
Authorities said a total of 10 men entered a cave in the Longchaeng district of Xaisomboun province on May 19 to dig for gold. The region is characterized by rugged mountains, steep valleys and dense jungle. 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, local media reported. Parts of the cave are also said to have collapsed during a storm.
Help from abroad
The government in Laos asked Thailand for help. Thai emergency services have experience from the rescue of a youth football team from the Tham Luang cave in 2018, which made headlines around the world.
Several volunteer rescue teams from Thailand arrived at the scene of the accident over the weekend and immediately began work, the Thaiger portal reported.
International diving experts are now also supporting the mission, including Finnish cave diver Mikko Paasi, who was involved in the daring Tham Luang rescue.
However, the operation is extremely difficult, rescue workers said. The Thai broadcaster Channel 7 quoted emergency services involved as saying the access to the cave leads through a tunnel only about 60 centimetres wide, through which emergency services would have to crawl about 100 metres to reach the actual shaft.
Rising floodwaters have so far prevented teams from advancing far into the cave.
Are the missing still alive?
Additional concerns are the cave's low oxygen levels and the ongoing rain, which is further worsening the situation.
Specialists have been pumping water out of the cave for days and monitoring the weather. However, it is unclear whether the missing are still alive.
The Thai PBS World broadcaster reported the workers may have made it to a large chamber more than 100 metres from the entrance. Above the chamber there is said to be a shaft-like opening of about 50 metres, which rescue workers are also examining as a possible access route.
Meanwhile, the families of those trapped are waiting for news in makeshift camps near the cave. A medical team, ambulances and rescue vehicles are on round-the-clock standby in front of the cave, the Vientiane Times newspaper reported.
Memories of the rescue operation in Thailand
The rescue operation reminds many of the drama at the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand eight years ago. At the time, 12 teenagers and their football coach were trapped in the flooded cave for more than two weeks after heavy rainfall and were freed in a rescue mission by international cave divers and special forces.
