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Diver who helped save soccer team in Thailand holds out hope miners trapped in Laos cave are still alive
In pitch-black tunnels in a remote mine in central Laos, rescuers are risking their lives to save seven miners who have been trapped for a week.
TL;DR
- Seven miners have been trapped for a week in a remote mine in central Laos.
- Early monsoon rains caused a collapse in the mine, trapping the artisanal gold miners.
- Mikko Paasi, a Finnish diver involved in the 2018 Thailand cave rescue, is assisting Laotian authorities.
- The rescue is extremely dangerous due to the mine's narrow, hand-dug tunnels, limited visibility underwater, and potential for further collapses.
- Rescuers face challenges including low oxygen, hypothermia, carbon dioxide poisoning, and shortages of food and water for the trapped miners.
- Despite the dangers, there is hope that the miners are still alive, though incapacitating them could make extraction impossible.