Rescuers free four more men from flooded Laos cave, two still missing

Five of seven men who entered cave seeking gold are now out after being trapped for 10 days.Rescuers have pulled four more men from a flooded cave in central Laos, bringing to five the number freed from a group of villagers who became trapped while searching for gold. Two others remain missing.The four were brought out on Saturday, a day after the first man was rescued, ending a period of about 10 days during which the group was cut off underground.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Rescue teams find five of seven trapped in Laos cavelist 2 of 2First survivor rescued from flooded cave in Laosend of listThe Thailand-rescue-diver-facebook-page" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="137245" data-entity-type="organization">Thailand Rescue Diver Facebook page said that “rescue officials were able to bring out four more people trapped” at about 3:10pm (08:10 GMT).Rescuers said the water inside the cave had finally dropped low enough for the men to walk and swim out alongside the divers who had reached them.The operation has drawn diving teams from several countries, but the danger is far from over, with two members of the group still unaccounted for deep inside the flooded passages.Lao and Thai rescue groups posted images of the men being carried out on stretchers, caked in mud, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in foil blankets.Footage shared online showed some of them collapsing as they emerged, before being embraced by rescuers.The five had been located alive on Wednesday, huddled on a rocky ledge in a chamber about 300 metres (980 feet) from the entrance. Unable to bring them out straight away, rescuers passed in water, soft food and blankets to keep them going.“The first one is out. Safe and sound!!!” Manat Artmongkron, a technician with a Thai rescue group, wrote on Facebook after the first evacuation on Friday.Divers described treacherous conditions in the narrow, flooded tunnels, where visibility was almost nil. One stretch was a 25-metre passage too tight to turn around in.The group had entered the cave around May 19 or 20, to look for gold and other minerals, according to local officials, before heavy rain triggered flash flooding that sealed off their way out.