Seven Laotian villagers entered the cave in central Xaysomboun province, about 125km northeast of the capital Vientiane, on May 20, Laotian state media said earlier this week.
They were searching for gold but instead got trapped inside the cave after heavy rain triggered flash flooding, blocking their exit, it added.
Specialist rescue diver Mikko Paasi from Finland said earlier on Wednesday that rescuers needed to “navigate hundreds of metres of constant restrictions, flood waters, collapse hazards and high risk of contaminated air quality” inside the cave, which he called an “abandoned gold mine”.
The seven people “should be trapped in the terminal chamber” around 300m from the exit, he said in a social media post.
“The area is not owned by anybody,” Laotian rescuer Baeng, who requested one name be used for security reasons, told AFP. “Locals usually go there to dig holes and look for food.”
