Rescuers free four more men from flooded Laos cave, two missing | Stories of the Flood

Five of the seven men who entered the cave in search of gold have now come out after being trapped for 10 days.

Rescuers have pulled four more men out of a flooded cave in the central region Laosto reach the number of freed from a group of villagers who were trapped in the search for gold. Two others are missing.

The four were released on Saturday, a day after the first man was rescued, ending nearly 10 days in which the group was secretly cut.

The Thailand Rescue Diver Facebook page reported that “rescue officials were able to free four more trapped people” at around 3:10pm (08:10 GMT).

The rescuers said that the water inside the cave went down so that the men walked and swam out with the swimmers who reached them.

The operation has attracted diving teams from several countries, but the danger is far away, with two members of the team still missing inside the flooded passages.

Lao and Thai rescue teams posted pictures of men being carried on stretchers, covered in mud, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in blankets.

Pictures shared online showed some of them collapsing on the way out, before being picked up by rescuers.

The five were he is alive On Wednesday, I piled up on the rocks in a room about 300 meters (980 feet) from the door. Unable to get them out immediately, the rescuers passed on water, soft food and blankets to keep them going.

The first one is out. Safe and sound!!! Manat Artmongkron, an expert with the Thai rescue team, posted on Facebook after the first escape on Friday.

Various have described treachery in the narrow canals, which were flooded, in which they were almost visible. One area was 25 meters too tight to bend.

The team entered the cave around May 19 or 20, to search for gold and other minerals, according to local officials, before heavy rains triggered a flood that blocked their way out.

An eighth person from the village who escaped eventually informed the authorities about the people who were left behind.

Rescue teams said they were now preparing to push deeper into the cave – about 20 to 25 meters beyond where the survivors were found – to look for the two missing men, although the section remained flooded.

Local officials say people living in the remote, mountainous region of Xaisomboun often seek livelihood by entering such caves in search of gold, despite repeated warnings about the dangers.