Rescuers searching for two men missing in a flooded cave in Laos for about two weeks are scouring for a new entry point, as heavy rain has slowed diver efforts inside.
Last week, rescuers found five other men alive about 300 meters from the mouth of the cave in Xaysomboun province. They had been stranded by flash floods for a week. One man was extracted by foreign divers on Friday, and four more found their own way out on Saturday.
One survivor, Laen, said in a video released by state media that the men had gone into the cave to hunt bats and look for gold from old mining areas. He said the rain came and the cave flooded.
The two missing men are believed to have gone deeper into the cave, prompting rescuers to search for an alternative access route. Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie said one team is still searching inside the cave while a second team will search for possible entry from the other side.
Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, who took part in the 2018 rescue of a youth football team from a flooded cave in Thailand, said rain has made some passages too unstable, so the search priority has shifted to promising leads above the cave. Japanese diver Yoshitaka Isaji said teams have found a potential way in through a crack in the mountain, which may continue after a 100-meter descent using a rope.
Thai rescuer Kengkard Bonggawong said teams are also using satellite radar to look for tunnels, racing to pump water out and establish an air line. Another Thai rescuer, Manat Artmongkron, reported hearing responding knocking sounds in a chamber after rappelling to a depth of 70 meters.