Rescuers trying to save seven people trapped for nearly a week in a flooded cave in Laos say they are closer to reaching them after breaking through 15 metres of sand and gravel.The seven villagers entered the cave Xaysomboun province, central Laos on May 20 but got trapped by a landslide triggered by heavy rain, the state-run ​Lao Phattana News agency reported."From this ⁠moment on, I believe our success is not far away," Kengkard Bongkawong, head of a Thai rescue team that joined the operation on Sunday​, said in a social media post.The team is working alongside ​the Laos Rescue Volunteer for People and other groups. Footage posted on ​the Facebook page of Lao Phattana News showed rescuers in helmets crawling through ​tight spaces under torchlight, gasping for breath, and others wading slowly through muddy, chest-high water deep into ‌the ⁠cave.Mr Kengkard, a diver, was involved in the rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded mountain cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province in 2018. Specialists from around the world, including US military personnel and Thai Navy Seals, took part in the 17-day operation that captured global attention.Another Thai diver, Norrased Palasing, and Finnish specialist Mikko Paasi, who was involved in the Chiang Rai mission, are also taking part in the rescue operation in Xaysomboun.The villagers are believed to be on an elevated ledge inside the cave that benefits from a continuous airflow, the official Lao News Agency said. Mr Kengkard, who heads the Metta Tham volunteer disaster and rescue team in north-eastern Thailand, said pumping would continue around the clock, after the team edged closer to an underwater shaft they believe will lead them to those trapped.He said a survey of the area above the cavern found four shafts that might connect to the cave ⁠system ​and provide an additional route for the rescue. "We estimate ​that less than 20 metres remain before we reach the key target area," he said.