The multinational rescue mission to help seven Laotians, who became trapped in a flooded gold mine in Laos’ Xaysomboun province about a week ago, was suspended on Wednesday morning due to rising floodwater after heavy overnight downpours.
Rescuers are, however, believed to be only about 15 metres from the trapped people.
The rescue operation continued until nearly midnight on Tuesday, before it was halted after two younger Thai rescue team members suffered exhaustion while installing pumps and communication lines deep inside the flooded network of tunnels.
The fatigued rescuers had been working intensively for almost three straight days, crawling through cave passages and rappelling in difficult conditions. Both are now safe but physically exhausted.
Thai rescue teams say that they have successfully installed a LAN and internet system inside the cave to improve communication and transmit live images from the operation site, which is expected to significantly improve coordination efforts.
According to Thai rescue officials, divers and cave specialists have managed to advance about 280 metres into the mine, by crawling and squeezing through passages as narrow as 50 centimetres and diving through submerged sections.
Rescuers believe they are now less than 15 metres from the seven trapped people.
Those trapped had been employed by a Chinese-backed gold mining company in Long Chaeng district when flash floods inundated the mine tunnel on May 20.
A Facebook post by Thai rescue worker Chakkrid Tangtang showed teams carrying equipment through fast-flowing water and narrow passages to install communication systems near the chamber before the one in which the seven are thought to be trapped.
Laotian authorities are supporting the operation by providing a gigabit internet connection and deploying technicians from Lao Telecom to extend communication lines up the mountain to the cave’s entrance.
Officials are now working on a 3D map of the entire cave system, while teams on the mountain above rappel into sinkholes and natural shafts in an effort to pinpoint the exact location of those trapped and to identify where floodwater is entering the cave.
Videos shared online by Thai rescuers show that reaching the cave entrance requires a steep hike of roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 miles).
The entrance is steep, rocky and barely wide enough for a single person to climb through at a time.
Inside, rescuers must make their way through muddy passageways, flooded sections and narrow tunnels, forcing them to crawl through many sections.
Meanwhile, geologists assisting the mission say the cave system is more dangerous and difficult than Thailand’s Tham Luang cave, from which 12 boys and their football coach were rescued in 2018.
Geological engineer and geologist Sornsawan Utthakrue said the mine cave is located in fragile rock layers with poor drainage, making it more prone to water accumulation and possible collapse during heavy rain.
Survey teams have identified several air shafts near the cave entrance that could potentially be used to lower food, water, lighting equipment and communication devices to the people trapped below, if the shafts are found to be stable enough.
Officials also believe there may be natural air pockets and clean water sources inside the cave, raising hopes that the seven may still be able to survive, despite being trapped for several days.
Meanwhile, relatives gathered outside the cave entrance continue to wait anxiously as both Thai and Lao rescue teams race against time to reach the trapped workers.
The Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People, which is working closely with local authorities, posted on its Facebook page that Tuesday’s operation plan included exploring air shafts above the cave in hopes of identifying possible access points and locating the trapped miners.
Those helping include divers from several countries who took part in the complex but successful 2018 Tham Luang rescue in northern Thailand.
