© picture alliance / Zoonar | Anja Koeberle
In Laos, seven men are still trapped in an underground, flooded gold mine. Rescue efforts are hampered by narrow passages, strong currents and persistent rain.
Seven villagers are trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos' Xaisomboun province after heavy rain blocked the exit. The men had entered the cave in search of gold. They have been underground for nearly a week and are said to be on an "elevated ledge with constant airflow," a local news agency reported.
Difficult rescue operation
The rescue operation is proceeding with particular difficulty. Divers must make their way through a 340-meter tunnel that is sometimes only 60 centimeters wide, forcing rescuers to crawl through partially flooded passageways. Pumps are deployed to pump water out of the tunnels, while helmets, breathing masks and gas detectors track oxygen and toxic gas levels. A rope team is also scouring the mountain above the cave for alternative access routes through four identified shafts.
Two Thai divers and a Finnish expert who participated in the famous rescue from a cave in Thailand in 2018 have joined the operation.
In search of gold
Authorities were alerted by a member of the group who managed to escape from the cave before the exit was flooded, AP news agency reported. Despite repeated safety warnings, locals regularly enter the cave in search of gold.
The operation evokes comparisons to the rescue operation in Thailand in 2018, when 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped in a cave for more than two weeks. The whole world sympathized with the team of British, American and Australian divers who freed them one by one.
Illustration picture: © picture alliance / Zoonar | Anja Koeberle