The remaining four of the five people found together in the flooded gold mine in Laos have been successfully extracted from the cave, according to rescuers.
Following the collapse of a mine tunnel in Long Cheng, in Xaysomboun Province of Laos, seven workers were left trapped inside.
A rescue team from Thailand travelled to assist Laotian authorities in successfully locating five of them.
According to the MTK Command and Control Centre Facebook page today and the report via social media by Thai rescuer Chakkit Taengtang, by 3.13pm the remaining four survivors had been safely extracted from the cave, albeit in a severely weakened state having lived for days on a diet of water and an edible species of fungus found in the mine.
All four were seen wrapped in Mylar blankets and lying on field beds set up on the ground with constant medical care, before they are to be transferred to a local hospital.
Plans are being made to locate the remaining two individuals believed to be elsewhere in the cave network and to determine their exact position.
Routes through which water can be pumped out of the cave and drained away are being identified, all while relatives watch and wait anxiously nearby, praying for good news.
At 2.00pm today, Thai rescue team leader Kengkard Bongkawong and local Lao teams surveyed the area around the cave to identify water courses and drainage channels.
Their goal is to drain the cave as quickly as possible before the forecast rains arrive and focus on an area near the end of the cave, where the two remaining missing villagers are believed to be trapped.
