The five gold miners found in a Laos cave a week after getting trapped are still underground despite being located, and face a potentially deadly days-long rescue. 

Specialist divers found the five men alive and huddled in a narrow passage around 980 feet from the exit of the cave on Wednesday, but they have yet to be pulled out due to flooding, collapse risks and other hazards underground. 

The fate of two others who went in with them is still unknown.  

The seven got stuck inside the cave in central Xaysomboun province, northeast of the capital Vientiane, on May 20. 

They were searching for gold but got trapped after heavy rain triggered flash flooding, blocking their exit. 

Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, who found the men alongside his Thai diving partner Norrased Palasing, said on Wednesday that rescuers were 'racing against time' inside the cave, which he called an 'abandoned gold mine'.

Extremely remote and hostile 

He said: 'The five survivors are still in the terminal chamber, all healthy and in good spirits, but the extraction is still ahead and it ain’t going to be easy.'

Paasi added: 'We need to dive straight back and bring the miners more supplies to gain strength and get ready for the way out.'

With more rainfall expected, Thai rescuer Kengkad Bongkawong said Thursday that teams were racing to remove water from the cave.

'If we are able to pump out a lot of water tonight, we will begin the extraction tonight,' he wrote on social media.

'But if it is deemed too risky after an assessment, we will reconsider.'

Even getting to the site will be a challenge, Paasi said: 'The environment is extremely remote and hostile that starts with [a] 4km jungle track to the site. 

'When inside the mine you have to navigate hundreds of metres of constant restrictions, flood waters, collapse hazards and high risk of contaminated air quality.'

It could take a few more days 

So far, rescuers have cut an access road, installed air flow and water pumps and even a WiFi connection to the first chamber of the cave complex.  

Foreign rescuers - including two divers involved in the dramatic 2018 retrieval of a youth football team from a flooded cave in Thailand - joined Laotian volunteers this week after local groups requested specialist personnel and equipment to aid efforts.

Kengkad said a Malaysian cave diver was one of the latest foreigners to join the rescue operation.

Additional divers from Japan, France, Indonesia and Thailand were expected to arrive on Friday 'to prevent emergencies, including the risk from additional rainwater expected to flow in tomorrow'.

The cave system, located in a remote mountainous area, extends deep underground, with multiple levels and tight tunnels.

On Thursday morning, rain sent more soil and water into the cave, according to a Laotian logistics staffer for a firm supplying vehicles to support the rescue operation.

'If there isn't too much more rain, they may be able to bring them out today. But if heavier rain comes, it could take a few more days,' said the man, who requested anonymity due to fears of reprisal from his employer.

Local villagers, rescue groups and logistics workers were also supporting the operation, with more than 20 people standing by at the cave entrance, he said.

'Morale improved yesterday. People are happy and hopeful today after the five people were found.'

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