Five people found alive after week trapped in flooded Laos cave

Five people found alive after week trapped in flooded Laos cave Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePatrick JacksonReutersThe cave system, which extends deep underground, is also extremely narrow, with some chambers measuring only about 50cm (20in) wide, rescuers sayRescuers in Laos have found five villagers alive inside a flooded cave after they were trapped for a week following heavy rain and landslides.Two other villagers who were with them are missing, Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation said.The seven were part of a group of villagers from the central province of Xaysomboun who had gone into the cave on Wednesday last week in search of gold and wildlife, but could not get out as rain and landslides blocked the cave's entrance.Footage shared by the rescuers showed cave divers crawling through narrow, muddy passageways that were almost completely flooded.Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People told the Associated Press the search for the missing would continue."I'm still shaking," he said in a voice message. "Our team made it happen."This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.Laos