Cave in Laos: Two missing people may be in air pocket
Rescue teams believe that the two people missing in a cave in Laos, Southeast Asia, may be in an air pocket hundreds of meters deep.
Rescuers believe that the missing men are two men from the region, who entered the cave system looking for gold before the five men who were already rescued.
The team of rescue divers - some of whom brought experience from a dramatic cave rescue in neighboring Thailand in 2018 - were asked to return to the cave site on Sunday morning (31) to prepare for a possible search mission deeper into the cave network for the pair.
An Australian diver participating in the operation sent a video to CNN about the situation on site.
"We just walked in and there's a cave exploration team in there right now. We got a request that they need support from divers; it looks like the flooding - yesterday's rain - has caused the water level to rise again," said Josh Richards.
He explained that, with the other rescued survivors leaving, the divers got a better image of the cave system and identified a passage ahead.
4 more men are rescued from cave in Laos; 2 remain missing | NOW CNN
This "even narrower and more claustrophobic" passage is beyond where the divers have already passed and is the "only place they could still be," the diver said. The first group was found at a depth of about 260 meters.
"Now we know that there is a passage ahead. Everything indicates that it is even narrower and more claustrophobic than the part where Miko and Bens were diving before. So, we will possibly enter at some point to try to provide support and search for these two miners who are still missing", said Richards.
"From what we know, there's a significant air pocket considerably further out, another 100 meters or so, past a pretty lethal gallery. The only place they could still be is there," he added.
After Richards sent the video to CNN, rescuers re-entered a cave chamber, but the operation was later suspended due to rising water levels caused by heavy rain, which put the team's safety at risk.
* With information from CNN's Will Ripley, Kocha Olarn, Rebecca Wright, Laura Sharman, Isaac Yee, Angie Puranasamriddhi, Ally Barnard and Issac Yee
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A rescuer from the team sent from Thailand to Laos to try to rescue men trapped in a cave after flooding - Reproduction/Rescue divers in Thailand via Facebook
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Mr. Mikko Pietari Paasi and Mr. Noraset Palasingh, two cave diving experts, after leaving the cave in Laos on a mission to rescue seven villagers - Thailand Rescue Diver via Facebook
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Thai rescuer enters cave in Laos to search for missing residents - Chakkit Taengtang via Facebook
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Diving experts with Thai rescue team in Laos - Thailand Rescue Diver via Facebook
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On May 26, the air compressor was sent from Thailand with the support of the Thai Public Security Support Team for the rescue operation in a cave in Laos - Thailand Rescue Diver via Facebook
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Thai rescue team on second day of mission to find workers trapped in cave in Laos - Thailand Rescue Diver via Facebook
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Source: CNN