Rescue workers in Laos have searched for an alternative passage into a flooded cave where two people are believed to have been trapped for nearly two weeks after heavy rainfall flooded the main entrance, making it impassable.
The two people remain unaccounted for since a search and rescue operation began last month in a rugged area of Xaisomboun province, about 120km north of Vientiane.
Five others initially trapped in the cave have been rescued.
Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie, who is involved in the operation, said workers were pumping water out of the cave.
“We will go into the suspected area to continue the search if the water level is lowered,” he said.
Another team of rescuers is also looking around the other side of the cave in hopes of finding a dry passage that could provide access to the area where the missing people are believed to be trapped.
Rescue teams from Laos and neighbouring Thailand have been working together for more than a week. They were joined by divers from Finland, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, France and Australia.
Laos’s Rescue Volunteer for People group posted on its Facebook page that heavy rain caused “massive amounts of water” to flow down into the area, forcing them to suspend operations on Sunday night.
Kengkaj Bongkawong, head of the Thai group Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin, said that the workers are also looking for air shafts from above that may provide access into the cave.
Rescuers believe the two missing people are trapped deeper inside the cave than the location where the five survivors were found on Wednesday. But the passage into that area is said to be very narrow and heavily flooded.
The villagers entered the cave nearly two weeks ago to look for valuable minerals such as gold before they were trapped by a flash flood. — AP
