Nation Thailand
Thai rescuers liken Laos cave mission to Tham Luang challenge
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An urgent mission to save seven villagers trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos has stretched into its second week, as rising water, narrow passages and remote mountain terrain turn the operation into a high-risk race against time.
Key facts
- The rescue effort is under way near Long Tieng valley in Long Chaeng district, Xaysomboun province, after heavy rain and flooding cut off access to a cave linked to gold mining activity
- A Thai rescuer involved in the operation has described the access challenge as even more difficult than the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue.
- Kengkad said he was working alongside Finnish cave diver Mikko Paasi and Naraset Palasingh, all of whom were involved in the 2018 Tham Luang operation to rescue 12 members of the Wild Boars youth football team and their coach.
- Arnold Dix, a geologist and rescue specialist who helped save 41 Indian workers from a collapsed tunnel in 2023, warned in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the operation remained highly dangerous.
- In 2018, that mission mobilised expert divers from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to bring the Wild Boars team out one by one through the flooded cave network after they had been trapped for 18 days.
Summary
The rescue effort is under way near Long Tieng valley in Long Chaeng district, Xaysomboun province, after heavy rain and flooding cut off access to a cave linked to gold mining activity. The seven villagers are believed to have been trapped since May 19.
Local and foreign rescue teams are working to find a safe route through waterlogged and tightly confined passageways, as bad weather and deteriorating conditions continue to hamper the mission.