'It could give way at any time': search leader points out challenges in locating men who remain trapped in a cave in Laos

Diver leading search for men trapped in cave in Laos tells what the biggest challenge is now
The operation to rescue two miners who remain trapped in a flooded cave in Laos reached its 12th day surrounded by apprehension. Five men have already been removed alive from the site, but search teams are still trying to reach the two missing.
In an interview with correspondent Bianca Rothier, Finnish diver Miko Pase, who leads an international task force with more than 100 volunteers, described the difficulties faced by rescuers.
According to him, the environment inside the cave is extremely dangerous, with muddy water, narrow passages, constant risk of collapse and sudden changes in conditions climatic conditions.
"The problem is getting to them. We have to drain the chamber and crawl into it, because I don't recommend diving. It's very, very risky even for us," he said.
The drama began on May 20, when ten prospectors entered the cave in search of gold. A storm flooded the place. Three managed to escape, while seven were trapped.
With more than three decades of experience in cave diving, Miko participated in the rescue of young people from a football team trapped in a cave in Thailand, in 2018. Even so, he claims to be impressed with the conditions found in Laos.
According to him, in some parts of the exploration it was necessary to exhale almost all the air from his lungs to be able to cross extremely narrow passages.
On Wednesday, rescuers located five survivors. Two days later, one of them was removed with the help of diving equipment. As the operation proved too risky to be repeated, the teams concentrated their efforts on draining the water accumulated in the cave.
After more than a week of work with suction pumps, the water level dropped rapidly. As a result, the other four survivors managed to leave the cave on their own.
"It was the best possible result", said the diver.
The rescued men also provided information considered essential for the continuation of the search. They reported the existence of a second chamber with an air pocket beyond the point where they remained sheltered.
According to rescuers, there is a possibility that the two missing people are in that location, approximately 100 meters away. Access, however, remains a major challenge.
Today, the journey to the area reached by rescuers takes approximately an hour and a half through steep and narrow tunnels. Rain, which could flood the cave again in a few minutes, remains one of the main threats to the operation.
Despite the difficulties, the volunteers continue the search.
"It's worth it", summed up Miko when talking about the possibility of saving lives. Shortly afterwards, he had to interrupt the interview to advise his colleagues to temporarily suspend work in view of the rapidly worsening weather.
Diver who leads searches for men trapped in a cave in Laos tells what the biggest challenge is now
Reproduction/TV Globo
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Source: G1