Bounkham Luanglath, a representative from the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, has been instrumental in coordinating with local authorities during recent rescue operations. He informed The Associated Press that five individuals have been safely rescued, although two others remain unaccounted for, and efforts to find them are ongoing.
“I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” Luanglath expressed in an emotional voice message.
A video shared by a Thai rescue group participating in the mission captured the dramatic moment when divers surfaced and located the stranded villagers.
In the video, the villagers can be seen perched on a rock, encircled by floodwaters.
Additional footage depicted the rescuers, both inside and outside the cave, celebrating with cheers, jumps, and embraces, overwhelmed with joy following the successful discovery.
The cave is situated in a remote and rugged area within Xaisomboun province’s Longcheng district, approximately 120 kilometers north of the capital city, Vientiane.
Rescuers at the scene have detailed on social media the challenging mountainous terrain and heavy rain that has hampered their work.
Videos shared online by Thai rescuers showed that reaching the cave’s entrance requires a steep hike on foot of roughly four kilometres.
The entrance is also steep and rocky, and barely wide enough for a single person at a time to climb through.
There has been no official confirmation on why the villagers went into the cave.
However, Bounkham has said that the cave was frequented by local residents looking for gold, even though authorities had repeatedly warned them against entering the cave because of safety concerns.
