FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Divers were preparing for the operation, the trapped people came out on their own
After a long and complex rescue operation in a flooded cave in central Laos, the unexpected happened. Five men who had been trapped underground for more than a week emerged from the cave on their own, surprising even international rescue teams.
The operation was carefully prepared to extract them through flooded tunnels, a high-risk mission involving professional divers from several countries. When the first of the men was successfully pulled out on Friday, many thought it would take hours or even days to rescue the rest.
But the situation quickly changed. Thanks to pumps working non-stop to lower the water level inside the cave system, the other four men managed to find their way to the exit and suddenly appeared at the cave entrance.
"I was putting on my diving suit to go inside when I saw them come out on their own," said Australian diver Josh Richards, part of the international rescue team.
The five men had entered the cave more than a week ago in search of gold, but were trapped after heavy rainfall flooded the underground galleries.
For their families, the weekend brought immense relief. One of the participants in the search operation was Thao Oun, who was looking for his father. When he saw him emerge from the cave, he knelt down and hugged him tightly, tears welling up after days of anxiety and uncertainty.
However, the community's joy remains incomplete. Two other residents, believed to have entered the cave system before the rescued group, are still missing.
An operation that recalled the famous rescue in Thailand
The rescue team included experts who had also participated in the famous 2018 operation in Thailand, when a soccer team of children was rescued from a flooded cave.
In recent days, divers had been training the trapped men on how to use breathing equipment and oxygen tanks to get through the narrow, water-filled tunnels.
The conditions were extremely difficult. The rocky passages descended at steep angles into flooded areas with murky water, which divers described as brown in color. In some places, the corridors were only 60 centimeters wide.
Neither of the men had any diving experience. Moreover, they had spent nearly a week without food and water before being located by rescue teams.
The humid and confined environment had caused health problems, including skin irritations and digestive problems.
The water receded and salvation came by itself.
After the first person was pulled out on Friday, teams continued pumping water throughout the night. This caused the water level in the cave galleries to drop significantly, just before the arrival of a storm that could have blocked the operation again.
Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, a veteran of the Thailand operation, said the team had joked over the past few days that, if the pumping worked well enough, maybe the divers wouldn't be needed anymore.
"This was the best possible outcome. Pumping was always the safest plan because no one was put at risk. We're glad we didn't have to go in again and that pumping worked," he said.
In search of gold, in the heart of a dangerous economy
All the men involved in the incident are believed to have entered the cave in search of gold, part of an informal mining economy that has expanded in recent years in remote areas of Laos.
According to experts, hundreds of gold mining sites operate outside any state control in the Mekong region, while record gold prices on world markets have increased interest in this activity.
Human rights organizations and regional groups have long warned that a lack of jobs and poverty in rural areas are pushing residents to take extreme risks to secure an income.
In 2021, seven people lost their lives in an illegal gold mining operation in Xieng Khouang province after heavy rainfall caused a gallery to collapse.
While the five rescued men are receiving medical assistance and recovering with their families, Lao authorities have warned that they will intensify the fight against illegal gold mining.
For now, however, the local community is celebrating a miracle: five men who had lost all hope of returning to the surface have been given a second chance at life. / Adapted from "CNN".
Lini një Përgjigje