<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Specialist cave divers scrambling to rescue a group of villagers trapped in a flooded cave in a remote part of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/laos" rel="" target="" title="Laos "><span>Laos </span></a><span>are cautiously optimistic that they may be able to start bringing out the stranded men soon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Five of the seven missing villagers were located on Wednesday in a chamber deep underground in Xaisomboun, a central province of the landlocked South east Asian nation, a week after they became trapped when heavy rain triggered flash flooding, blocking their way out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A Laotian rescue group, Rescue Volunteer for People, said that five of the men found were "alive and all safe."</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-doctor-recommends-he-lose-weight-and-exercise-more-but-says-he-is-in-excellent-health/c9dd992d-5a15-4b27-9742-c3b94c228d0d"><strong><span>Trump's doctor recommends he lose weight exercise more</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rescuers believe two men remain missing somewhere inside the cave complex.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Video released by the rescue group captured the moment divers reached the trapped villagers after emerging from the water.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The men could be seen sitting on a rocky ledge surrounded by floodwater and wearing headlamps.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/laos-cave-rescue-rescuers-hopeful-they-can-pull-villagers-flooded-cave-soon/74cc35b4-d3ca-4d65-b758-7df3f83e9ffe" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rescue teams working above ground were seen jumping for joy, hugging one another and crying when they learned that five people had been found alive, in scenes posted on social media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For now, they remain stuck in an underground cavern, as rescuers continue to search for the two remaining people, and simultaneously formulate a plan to extract the survivors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Echoes of Thai cave boys</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The harrowing mission to retrieve the trapped men recalls the dramatic 2018 rescue of teenage soccer players in neighbouring Thailand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some of the international members on the current mission are themselves veterans of that operation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Five people have been found alive and are safe. They have already received basic medical checks and soft food following doctors' advice," Thai rescue diver Kengkard Bongkawong wrote on Facebook at 11.30pm (local time).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If access can be opened further, rescuers believe the survivors are physically strong enough to help move themselves out with support from the teams."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/cuba-us-commander-meets-with-cuban-military-officials-as-trump-pressures-island-nation/bd12af21-e801-4105-97d3-57a5e13a3d97"><strong><span>US commander meets with Cuban military officials as Trump pressures nation</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, who is part of the rescue operation, expressed his happiness at locating five of the trapped.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The task so far has been far from easy and everybody involved has done amazing work," he wrote on Instagram.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, he added it was "only a brief relief," as the survivors are still stuck in the cavern for now.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All healthy and in good spirits, but the extraction is still ahead and it ain't going to be easy," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Video footage taken by Paasi shows the villagers being asked for their names and whether they were suffering from any illnesses.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They responded that they are not ill but feel weak and very hungry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Challenges ahead</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Extraction will likely prove challenging.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some areas of the pitch-black and partially flooded tunnel appear very narrow, with a width of roughly 58cm.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the rescuers said he was at one point forced to remove his equipment in order to squeeze through and reach the next area of the cave.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The villagers, who are understood to all be male, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/laos-cave-rescue-villagers-missing-in-flooded-laos-cave-for-more-than-a-week-found-alive-rescuers/ecd90098-5c7a-4f27-8673-51e6bb12d58b" rel="" target="_blank" title="went into the cave last Wednesday in search of gold, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding"><span>went into the cave last Wednesday in search of gold, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding</span></a><span> which blocked the exit, Kengkard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The dangerous operation to rescue them was launched amid deteriorating conditions and unforeseen delays, including rescuers encountering toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and issues deploying a pump into the cave to supply fresh air.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Kengkard said the men are about 200 metres inside the cave system, which has several chambers and elevated ledges.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To reach them, rescuers need to navigate bends and crawl through narrow passages at different angles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Right now, going in and out each trip takes about an hour because oxygen levels are limited," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/white-house-ufc-event-free-tickets-donald-trump-weight-requirements/b1ea47b7-a6ac-453b-b8da-f4127bce8e7b"><strong><span>Free tickets to soldiers for Trump's UFC event, but only if they are thin enough</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Complicating matters, the route is one-way and includes sections submerged in water, which means rescuers must keep in constant communication so as not to cross paths.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Finding them was never enough. I immediately started planning how to transport them out afterward," Kengkard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Their best option now, he added, is to push ahead with pumping as much water as possible out of the cave to lower the water levels and allow the survivors to crawl out themselves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But to complete the rescue, the team requires more oxygen and specially designed stretchers that can be used in the cramped, narrow caves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If the survivors become weak, dragging them alone won't work," Kengkard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We also urgently need more oxygen tanks, 40-litre tanks, to place along the route because the air inside is insufficient."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To help speed up the rescue, teams are pumping water out from several downstream points, and searching for vertical shafts that could allow rescuers to descend directly toward the group, he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rescue Volunteer for People, the Laos rescue group, said they are excavating an access route to the remote cave site so they can move a generator close to the cave's entrance and pump more water out faster.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If they succeed, the group's president Bounkham Luanglath, said the five survivors would be able to get out of the cave "without needing to dive out themselves, because it would be extremely difficult for them to do so."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hindering their work has been "constant rain" and a four-kilometre trek through difficult terrain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We hope they will be able to exit naturally through the same passage they entered from," Bounkham said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Efforts are also underway to locate the remaining two missing people and get more information about who they are.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They aren't known to the five survivors, and rescuers believe the two entered the cave earlier than the group found on Wednesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rescuers earlier told CNN that more than 100 people had joined the operation, including 15 experienced divers and experts who helped in the dramatic 2018 cave rescue of a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/thai-cave-rescue" rel="" target="" title="young soccer team in Thailand."><span>young soccer team in Thailand.</span></a></div></div>