By TV Channel 7, PPTVHD36, Naewna and BBC
The good news came at 4.53 p.m., with both Thais and Laos cheering when they heard it. A video posted on Facebook by Mr. Kengkaj Bongkawong, president of the Metta Tham Association and head of the Thai rescue operation in Laos, showed the moment when the five of them were miraculously found with the message, “The moment they emerged from the water in the cave.” “Victims Found: Black Team by Kru Benz – Mr. Mikko”
Upon seeing the rescue team, the five Laotians broke down in tears. The Thai rescuers introduced themselves and told them that the rescue effort would continue for the remaining two victims. They then immediately gave them some food to eat.
This mission was extremely difficult and a race against time due to unpredictable weather and natural conditions. The rescue team faced obstacles related to distance, as the site was over four kilometers from their accommodation, requiring hours of uphill and downhill trekking.
This led the rescue team deciding to “stay put,” sleeping on the ground, eating in the rain, and getting covered in mud, refusing to return to rest. They realised that “every minute counts as a chance of survival for the victims.”
Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People told the Associated Press the search for the missing would continue.
“I’m still shaking,” he said in a voice message. “Our team made it happen.”
The cave system, which extends deep underground, is also extremely narrow, with some chambers measuring only about 50cm (20in) wide, rescuers say.
Specialist rescue diver Mikko Paasi from Finland said earlier on Wednesday that rescuers needed to “navigate hundreds of metres of constant restrictions, floodwaters, collapse hazards and high risk of contaminated air quality” inside the cave, which he called an “abandoned gold mine”.
He estimated the seven people were trapped around 300m (984ft) from the exit.
“The area is not owned by anybody,” Laotian rescuer Baeng, who requested one name be used for security reasons, told AFP news agency. “Locals usually go there to dig holes and look for food.”
Kengkaj was part of the team that helped bring 12 young Thai boys and their football coach to safety after they were trapped for two weeks inside a flooded cave underneath a mountain in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province in 2018.
CAPTION:
This and Front Page: Screengrab images from video shared by Mr. Kengkaj Bongkawong showing the five Laotian villagers being rescued. Credit – PPTVHD36
Watch videos of the cave rescue shared on Facebook by Mr. Kengkaj Bongkawong:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/26734842462852585
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1639356960858913
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