Laos: Rescuers race to reach 7 trapped in flooded cave

Rescuers are racing to reach seven people who have been trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos for almost a week.

The group of villagers entered the cave in the Xaisomboun province on May 19. They were looking for gold inside the chamber when a heavy downpour triggered a flash flood and blocked the way out, state media reported.

Divers have begun navigating flooded sections of the cave but have not yet been able to reach the group.

"We still do not know whether there are any signs of life or if they are still alive," Bounkham Luanglat, the head of a Laotian volunteer rescue association, told the AFP news agency.

He said one of the villagers managed to escape the cave before the exit was blocked and alerted authorities.

Rescuers appeal for help from Thailand

About 100 people are involved in the rescue operations at the site, which lies some 125 kilometers (78 miles) northeast of the capital Vientiane.

Among them are two Thai cave experts and another from Finland who participated in the rescue of the "Wild Boars" soccer team in northern Thailand, state media reported. In that case, the 12 boys and their assistant coach spent nearly three weeks trapped in a flooded cave before a complex diving operation brought them all to safety.

The Laotian rescue group has appealed to charities in Thailand to send specialist personnel and equipment, including water pumps, generators and thermal imaging devices.

In a letter published over the weekend, the group described the situation as a humanitarian emergency. It said rescuers faced difficult conditions in the flooded cave system, which runs deep underground and has passages extending more than 100 meters (yards) from the entrance.

Diver recounts Thai rescue

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Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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