Laos: The first of five men found alive after spending more than a week trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos has been successfully rescued, as emergency teams continue efforts to bring the remaining survivors to safety.
The group had entered the cave in central Laos’ Xaysomboun Province on May 20, while searching for gold when flash floods suddenly inundated the cavern, cutting off their escape route. Rescue divers discovered five men alive, huddled together about 300 metres from the cave entrance. Two other members of the group remain missing.
A Thai rescue team confirmed that the first survivor had been brought out of the cave. Images shared by rescuers showed the exhausted man being assisted to safety by divers and emergency personnel. Thai rescue team member Kengkard Bonggawong stated that, “One person has got out of the cave safely. We will assess the other four and we will hunt for the other two tomorrow.”
The operation has become a race against worsening weather conditions, with thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast for the region. Rescuers fear additional rainfall could further flood the cave system and complicate extraction efforts.
Video footage recorded when the five survivors were located showed them covered in mud, visibly weak and suffering from hunger after days trapped underground. Some reported chest pains and severe exhaustion.
Initial rescue plans focused on pumping water out of the cave to create a safe passage. However, those efforts faced significant challenges, leading authorities to consider teaching the trapped men basic scuba-diving techniques as a last-resort escape option.
Officials have not yet revealed how the first survivor was extracted, saying details of the operation will be shared later. The rescue mission has drawn international attention, with specialist cave divers from Thailand, Indonesia, France and Australia arriving in Laos to support local teams. Among them is Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, who participated in the dramatic 2018 rescue of a youth football team trapped in a cave in Thailand.
Speaking about the conditions in Laos, Paasi warned that the situation remains extremely dangerous. Paasi remarked that, “The environment is so hostile that anything can happen.” Rescuers are now working against time and weather conditions to bring the remaining four survivors out safely while continuing the search for the two missing men.
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