Four more Laos gold miners rescued from cave where they spent 10 days trapped

Rescue workers in Laos said that four more gold miners who have spent more than a week trapped in a flooded cave have been rescued, one day after another man was successfully freed in a dangerous operation. 

Rescue Volunteer for People, an organization in Laos, said on Facebook that the water level inside the cave had receded enough for the four miners to leave with divers. Efforts to pump water out of the flooding cave have been going for days, though they had not been initially successful. According to Rescue Volunteer for People, divers had been bringing food to the trapped group when they realized the water levels were low enough to get them out. 

Photos show the rescued miners wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in foil blankets. Details about their conditions were not immediately available. 

The group of seven miners entered the cave ten days ago. Even before the flooding due to monsoon rains, it was nearly impossible to get in and out of the cave, making rescue operations difficult. Five miners were located in one part of the cave on Wednesday. Two men remain missing inside the cave system. 

The first man was rescued in a risky operation on Friday. Lead rescuer Mikko Pasai told CBS News that he and his fellow divers essentially “sandwiched” the miner between them to lead him through the partially submerged cave. Paasi said the situation was a “trust-me dive,” since they were dealing with conditions that challenge world-class divers and there was no time for detailed training. 

“It’s not a nice place to dive,” Paasi said. “The guy was super strong and… props for him for that.”

Rescue Volunteer for People said it would continue to search for the two missing miners. Paasi had previously said that rescuers were no longer looking for them because they are believed to either no longer be alive or trapped in spaces too small for the divers to enter.