Two Thai divers who participated in the dramatic 2018 rescue of a football team from a flooded cave in Thailand have arrived in Laos to help save seven people trapped in a cave in Xaysomboun province for six days.
Rescue Operation Underway
The seven individuals entered the remote cave on Wednesday to hunt wildlife and search for gold. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding and landslides, blocking the entrance and trapping them inside. The Thai divers, along with a Finnish specialist also involved in the 2018 Tham Luang rescue, are assisting local authorities. Videos have shown parts of the Xaysomboun cave completely flooded with muddy waters.
Rescue workers have been unable to make contact with the missing group since they became trapped. Crews are now fitting ropes for the rescue, according to Kengkard Bongkawong, head of operations for the Thai rescue group Metta Tham Rescue.
No signs of life have been detected yet, but rescuers believe they are getting close to where the group is trapped, estimating they are "less than 20m away." "All day, all night, water was still being pumped out," Mr Kengkard said on Facebook.
Challenges Faced by Rescuers
Authorities learned of the entrapment after a man who was with the group managed to escape before the flooding. "I'm confident they are still alive because there is still air in the cave," Mr Kengkard added. He was part of the diving team that rescued 12 footballers from Tham Luang after two weeks—a mission involving over 10,000 experts and inspiring several films, including a recent Netflix documentary.
At the Xaysomboun cave, rescue workers face numerous obstacles, including sand and gravel blocking passages, strong water flows, and a very narrow underwater section only about 50cm wide. Separate teams are exploring above the cave and around the mountain for alternative access points or openings that might connect to the chamber where the trapped people are suspected to be.
Mr Kengkard noted that the way in is not complicated, but narrow spaces requiring crawling and tilting, along with sharp rocks, make passage difficult. "The gap is only 50cm wide, it is really small, so we need to clear out the sediment from this spot first," he told the Guardian. "The gap is quite low to crawl through, and we have to tilt at a 45-degree angle."
Mr Kengkard arrived at the site with fellow Thai diver Norrased Palasing and Finnish specialist Mikko Paasi. Jakkrit Taengtang, a Thai technician with the Saithan Saphanboon Foundation, said rescuers must stay overnight as reaching the cave's opening involves a 5km hike through rugged terrain. "The difficulty of this operation depends on the rain," he said. "We had to retreat earlier because of the water level rising in the cave."
The cave system, located in a remote area of central Laos, runs deep underground, with some passages extending more than 100m from the entrance.
