Laos cave rescue operation saves four more men; search continues for two missing

Four men trapped in a Laos cave were rescued on Saturday (May 30) after spending 10 days semi-submerged in a cavern. This comes just a day after another person was brought to the surface. Two people remain missing. The four men were freed after water was pumped out of the cavern, according to AFP, citing a Malaysian rescue diver. On the Thailand Rescue Diver Facebook page, they said in a post that "rescue officials were able to bring out four more people trapped" at about 3:10 pm (0810 GMT) on Saturday. Five people have now been rescued, while two remain missing, it added.

The four men were treated in makeshift tents at the rescue site. Videos from the scene show them lying on stretchers covered with thermal blankets.

How did the men get trapped?

Seven men had been trapped in a cavern in a remote mountainous area of central Xaysomboun province since May 20. They were stranded there by flash floods triggered by heavy rains while searching for gold, early state media reports suggested. Five of the seven men were located alive on May 27, huddled in a narrow shaft around 300 metres (984 feet) from the cave mouth.

A miracle

Talking to the press, French cave diver Robin Cuesta described the successful extraction of the first survivor on Friday as a "miracle". He cited the extraordinary difficulty the diving team faced while rescuing the men who had been weakened due to lack of food and water. He also noted that the men did not have any formal dive training, which further complicated the rescue.

What happened to the remaining two men?

The man rescued on Friday (May 29) identified as Meud, revealed that the two men had gone about 500 metres deeper into the cave than he had. In a video posted on the Lao Saychai Foundation page, he was asked whether he thought that the two men were still alive and only said: "I'm afraid it's too cold there."