Survivor rescued from flooded Laos cave but remaining group faces another night underground
By Kocha Olarn, Kara Fox, Isaac Yee, Bex Wright, Sophie Tanno, Will Ripley, Helen Regan,and Angie Puranasamriddhi
Laos (CNN) – The rescue operation to bring the remaining four men out of a cave in Laos has been suspended until tomorrow, according to officials on the ground. One man was safely brought to the surface following a nine-day ordeal.
The rescue operation is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Saturday local time.
“Rescue teams have pulled out for the night. The remaining four survivors are not yet ready to be evacuated,” the group wrote in an update on Facebook on Friday night local time.
The team will regroup, review their plan and continue rescue operations tomorrow.
The stranded men are over 800 feet (more than 200 meters) from the cave’s entrance, which slopes downward at a 45-degree gradient.
One survivor was brought out of the flooded chamber late Friday evening, guided by a rescue diver from a multinational team. Four other villagers remain inside and are awaiting assessment before evacuation, Kengkad Bongkawong, the head of the Metta Tham Kalasin Rescue, said on Facebook.
Five of the villagers were found huddled together in a pitch-black chamber above the murky waters. The men appear mostly well but have shared fears about remaining in the cave for much longer as they endure severe hunger. Two other people believed to have entered the cave are still missing.
Who are the men trapped in the Laos cave?
The men are local villagers who went into the cave last week in search of gold deposits within the cave system, according to Laos officials.
Two are thought to have entered the cave earlier, unconnected to the five who were found on Wednesday.
Rescuers say the men are familiar with the cave system and would have known to retreat to its chambers and elevated ledges when the water started rising.
As night fell near the entrance to the cave where seven villagers are trapped, CNN witnessed more heavy machinery and motorbikes ferrying supplies, including food and water, toward the cave.
At the beginning of the makeshift road to the cave, a small number of police officers and other emergency workers are waiting alongside several ambulances, ready to transport any injured villagers should they be extracted from the cave.
Some rescuers who have been at the cave have also come down to rest in a small village near the start of the road. Some have set out hammocks while others rest in trucks.
Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie said rescuers divers were in the process of teaching those located how to use diving equipment.
Toward the end of the interview, voices behind Lee could be heard saying “they are coming out.”
It is unclear how many villagers Lee was referring as “coming out” or when this will happen.
The-CNN-Wire
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