Four more people trapped in a flooded cave in Laos emerged on Saturday, bringing the total number of people rescued to five.
One person was successfully brought to the surface a day earlier, but two are still missing.
What do we know about the rescue effort?
“A total of five people have now been rescued, while two remain missing,” the Thailand Rescue Diver Facebook page said. The group, which is helping with the rescue effort, had earlier posted that the first person had been brought to safety.
They apparently climbed out of the cave without any assistance, although this was made possible by rescue workers pumping out water. Pumping efforts on Friday were complicated by morning rain.
Divers discovered the five men on Wednesday about 300 meters (984 feet) from the cave mouth. While they waited, the stranded people were given water, soft food, and foil blankets to keep warm.
A total of seven people entered the cave last week in search of valuable minerals, but were trapped inside due to a flash flood, blocking their way out. Another villager, who escaped in time, alerted the authorities that seven people remained inside.
A team of experts gathered to help people in a very complex mission.
Rescue teams from Laos and neighboring Thailand, along with Japanese and Malaysian colleagues, rushed to the scene in a rugged area in the central province of Tsaimboun, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital Vientiane.
The divers raced against time, facing dark and unfamiliar surroundings, making their way through winding, narrow, flooded passages with jagged walls.
Rescuers found that the men were reportedly in good health but exhausted from dehydration and lack of food.
Hopes of finding the other two people are fading as rescue teams have already searched about 95% of the tunnel system.
“We don’t have many places left to search,” Finnish cave diver Mikko Pasi told ThaiPBS World.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico