Rescuers free four more men from flooded Laos cave, two still missing

Five of 7 men who entered cave seeking golden are present retired aft being trapped for 10 days.

Rescuers person pulled 4 much men from a flooded cave successful cardinal Laos, bringing to 5 the fig freed from a radical of villagers who became trapped portion searching for gold. Two others stay missing.

The 4 were brought retired connected Saturday, a time aft the archetypal antheral was rescued, ending a play of astir 10 days during which the radical was chopped disconnected underground.

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The Thailand Rescue Diver Facebook leafage said that “rescue officials were capable to bring retired 4 much radical trapped” astatine astir 3:10pm (08:10 GMT).

Rescuers said the h2o wrong the cave had yet dropped debased capable for the men to locomotion and aquatics retired alongside the divers who had reached them.

The cognition has drawn diving teams from respective countries, but the information is acold from over, with 2 members of the radical inactive unaccounted for heavy wrong the flooded passages.

Lao and Thai rescue groups posted images of the men being carried retired connected stretchers, caked successful mud, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped successful foil blankets.

Footage shared online showed immoderate of them collapsing arsenic they emerged, earlier being embraced by rescuers.

The 5 had been located alive connected Wednesday, huddled connected a rocky ledge successful a enclosure astir 300 metres (980 feet) from the entrance. Unable to bring them retired consecutive away, rescuers passed successful water, brushed nutrient and blankets to support them going.

“The archetypal 1 is out. Safe and sound!!!” Manat Artmongkron, a technician with a Thai rescue group, wrote connected Facebook aft the archetypal evacuation connected Friday.

Divers described treacherous conditions successful the narrow, flooded tunnels, wherever visibility was astir nil. One agelong was a 25-metre transition excessively choky to crook astir in.

The radical had entered the cave astir May 19 oregon 20, to look for golden and different minerals, according to section officials, earlier dense rainfall triggered flash flooding that sealed disconnected their mode out.

An eighth villager who escaped successful clip alerted the authorities to those near behind.

Rescue teams said they were present preparing to propulsion deeper into the cave – astir 20 to 25 metres beyond wherever the survivors were recovered – to look for the 2 missing men, though that conception remained heavy flooded.

Local officials said residents of the remote, mountainous state of Xaisomboun often forage for a surviving and participate specified caves successful hunt of gold, contempt repeated warnings astir the risks.