Bounkham Luanglath, who is part of the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, has been collaborating closely with local authorities in the rescue mission. He informed The Associated Press that five individuals have been safely located, although two remain missing. Efforts to find them are ongoing.
“I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” Luanglath shared in an emotional voice message.
A video released by a Thai rescue team involved in the operation captured the dramatic moment when divers surfaced and found the stranded villagers.
The footage revealed the villagers perched on a rock, encircled by rising floodwaters.
Additional clips showed rescuers both inside and outside the cave celebrating, leaping with excitement, and embracing each other in relief and joy after the successful discovery.
The cave is located in a rugged, remote area in Xaisomboun province’s Longcheng district, about 120 kilometres north of the capital, Vientiane.
Rescuers at the scene have detailed on social media the challenging mountainous terrain and heavy rain that has hampered their work.
Videos shared online by Thai rescuers showed that reaching the cave’s entrance requires a steep hike on foot of roughly four kilometres.
The entrance is also steep and rocky, and barely wide enough for a single person at a time to climb through.
There has been no official confirmation on why the villagers went into the cave.
However, Bounkham has said that the cave was frequented by local residents looking for gold, even though authorities had repeatedly warned them against entering the cave because of safety concerns.