Rescuers stop search for last two men lost in Laos cave

The hunt and rescue squad accidental it is excessively risky to proceed the operation.

Search and rescue teams successful Laos person stopped the hunt for 2 men who were stranded successful a semi-submerged cave.

The hunt was called disconnected connected Saturday, a week aft rescuers managed to find 5 different men who besides got trapped successful the caves connected May 20 portion they were hunting for bats for nutrient and searching the country for gold.

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One antheral was extracted by divers connected May 29, and 4 were guided retired the pursuing time aft h2o was pumped from a flooded cavern.

Despite intensive hunt by section and planetary teams from Finland, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Australia, the 2 remaining men could not beryllium located.

Lee Kian Lie, a Malaysian cave diver who was a portion of the operation, told the AFP quality bureau they “were truthful close” but “the h2o successful the cave was already manageable, but the cave entranceway started to go unstable.”

He said continuing the cognition would beryllium “high risk”, adding that the squad volition proceed “to negociate the h2o by pumping and digging astatine imaginable resurgence points to fto the h2o travel retired faster”.

“Perhaps a occurrence volition happen,” helium said.

Thai pb rescuer Kengkad Bongkawong said successful a station connected Facebook connected Saturday that “no 1 is allowed wrong the cave” due to the fact that “it is excessively risky for anyone to enter,” but h2o pumping operations would persist outside.

He said adjacent though they bash not cognize the existent conditions of the 2 missing people, the champion enactment is to trim the h2o levels wrong the cave.

Kengkad said they person placed nutrient astatine assorted points if the missing radical negociate to find their mode out.

He had earlier said rising rainwater flows had reduced the vertical abstraction wrong the cave to astir 30cm (12in), fractional what rescuers worked successful during the operation’s earlier phases.

“From contiguous onwards, the rainfall volition go progressively heavier,” helium said.