Five gold miners found…

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’.

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.’