Rescue workers are racing to reach seven people who have been trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos for almost a week.
A group of villagers entered the cave in Zassomboon province on May 19, state media reported. They were searching for gold inside the chamber when heavy rain suddenly caused flooding and blocked the way out.
Divers have started exploring the flooded parts of the cave but have not been able to reach the group yet.
“We still don’t know if there are any signs of life or if they are still alive,” Bounkham Luanglat, head of the Laotian volunteer rescue association, told news agency AFP.
He said one of the villagers managed to escape from the cave before the exit was blocked and alerted the authorities.
Rescue workers have appealed for help from Thailand
About 100 people are involved in the rescue operation at the scene, located about 125 kilometers (78 miles) northeast of the capital Vientiane.
They include two Thai cave experts and another expert from Finland, who took part in the rescue of the “Wild Boars” football team in northern Thailand, state media reported. In that case, 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.
Laotian rescue groups have appealed to charities in Thailand to send specialist personnel and equipment, including water pumps, generators and thermal imaging equipment.
In a letter published over the weekend, the group described the situation as a humanitarian emergency. It said rescue workers faced difficult conditions in the flooded cave system, which is deep underground and with passages extending more than 100 meters (yards) from the entrance.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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