BANGKOK – In central Laos, a rescue mission to free seven villagers stranded in a submerged cave has extended into its seventh day as of Tuesday. Rescuers are grappling with harsh terrain and adverse weather conditions to reach the group, whose status remains uncertain.
The villagers had ventured into the cave in Xaisomboun province on May 19, only to be trapped when a deluge from heavy rains caused sudden flooding that sealed the entrance, according to teams from Laos and Thailand engaged in the rescue.
The Lao organization, Rescue Volunteer for People, collaborating with local officials, shared on Facebook that Tuesday’s strategy involves examining air shafts above the cave. This is an effort to discover potential entry points and ascertain the whereabouts of the villagers.
Rescue teams from Thailand have also joined the ongoing efforts over the weekend to bolster the mission.
Rescue operations are hindered by tough conditions
Rescuers report that divers have managed to penetrate approximately 100 meters into the narrow, waterlogged cave. It is believed that the villagers are located roughly 30 meters further than the current reach of the divers. Efforts to drain the cave water are underway to facilitate the search mission.
The site is in a remote area in Xaisomboun province’s Longcheng district, which is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Vientiane. Rescuers at the scene have detailed on social media the challenging mountainous terrain and heavy rain that is hampering the operation.
Videos shared online by Thai rescuers showed that reaching the cave’s entrance requires a steep hike on foot of roughly 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). The entrance is also steep and rocky, and barely wide enough for a single person to climb through at a time.
Inside, rescuers must go through muddy passageways, flooded sections and narrow tunnels that forced them to crawl forward.
Villagers were reportedly mining
There has been no official confirmation on why the villagers went into the cave, although the rescuers involved said that they went in to look for gold deposits.
Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao rescue group has told The Associated Press that the cave was frequented by local residents looking for gold, although authorities had repeatedly warned them against entering the cave out of safety concerns.
The average per capita income in Laos of about $2,000-2,500 is among the lowest in Southeast Asia, and it is less still in underdeveloped rural areas.
Laos is not known as a major gold producer, but its mining industry is sizable considering the country’s developing economy. The mining sector is fueled by foreign direct investment, largely from neighboring Thailand and China. Copper is a major export, and mining for rare earth elements, needed for most modern technologies, has become more common in Laos recently.
The Laos Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it has no official information to share with the media. The Southeast Asian nation is a one-party communist state with no organized opposition and the government keeps a tight lid on information.
Cave rescues are risky business
The news quickly drew headlines in Thailand because of its resemblance to the dramatic 2018 cave rescue in northern Thailand, where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped for more than two weeks before being safely rescued in an operation that became a global sensation. A former Thai navy SEAL diver was killed during the search and rescue effort.
A new tragedy occurred earlier this month, with five Italian divers found dead after they went missing while diving into a cave in the Maldives. A Maldivian military diver who was part of the recovery team was killed during the high-risk operation to retrieve their bodies.
A major health risk of being trapped in a cave is cold conditions quickly leading to hypothermia. The body can cope for weeks without food, but clean water is necessary to prevent dehydration. A contaminated water supply could cause diarrhea, hastening dehydration.
Declining oxygen levels cause symptoms similar to altitude sickness and in the long run can damage the lungs and other organs, while carbon dioxide buildup causes exhaustion and eventual unconsciousness.
Constant darkness disrupts time perception and the body’s circadian rhythms. It also causes extreme sensitivity when the eyes have to adjust again to light.
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Associated Press journalists Grant Peck, Anton L. Delgado and Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
