Five villagers found alive after more than a week trapped in flooded Laos cave; search continues for two others

The villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province's Longcheng district, roughly 120 kilometers north of Vientiane, on May 19, according to both AP and CNN. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit, trapping all seven. The cave is in a rugged, remote area; reaching its entrance requires a steep four-kilometer hike on foot, and the entrance itself is barely wide enough for a single person to pass through at a time, AP reported.

Specialist cave divers located the five survivors on Wednesday afternoon. Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, part of the rescue team, wrote on Instagram that the survivors were "all healthy and in good spirits," but cautioned it was "only a brief relief" as extraction remained ahead and "ain't going to be easy," CNN reported. Video footage taken by Paasi showed the villagers being asked for their names and whether they were ill; they responded they were not sick but felt weak and very hungry, CNN reported.

To reach the trapped villagers, rescuers navigated a 340-meter tunnel, portions of which were pitch-black and partially flooded, with some sections measuring roughly 23 inches wide, according to CNN citing the Metta Tham Kalasin Command and Control Center. One rescuer said he was forced to remove his equipment to squeeze through a narrow section, CNN reported. Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao rescue organization Rescue Volunteer for People told AP, "I'm still shaking. Our team made it happen."