Four more men who were trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for 10 days have been rescued by divers, but two members of the group remain missing. The first of the seven villagers was brought out on Friday, with the latest four freed on Saturday, in what officials have described as a 'miracle' rescue mission.
The group, all local villagers, entered the narrow tunnels on 20 May in search of gold, according to the BBC. A landslide and subsequent flooding blocked their exit, trapping them 1km inside the cave. The rescue has required teams to pump water from the cave and navigate collapse hazards, as reported by The Guardian.
“Four of seven men trapped in a flooded Laos cave for 10 days have been rescued, with two still missing as divers continue the hazardous operation.”
Divers have been crawling through muddy water and sharp rocks to reach the men. The Mirror described the conditions as a 'tight chamber' where the trapped men spent 10 days. The first rescue was completed on Friday, with four more freed on Saturday. The remaining two are still missing, and rescue teams are continuing to search deeper into the cave.
No official statement from the Lao government has been released, but local media reports confirm the rescue is ongoing. The operation involves multiple divers and engineers working to drain the cave system.
The rescue effort has drawn comparisons to the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, though the current operation is smaller in scale. The men are believed to have entered the cave illegally to prospect for gold, a common practice in rural Laos.
As of Saturday evening, the two missing men have not been located. Rescuers are pushing deeper into the cave, facing further flooding and unstable rock formations. The mission is expected to continue until all are found.
What This Means For You While this incident occurred in Laos, it serves as a reminder of the dangers of unregulated mining and cave exploration. For UK travellers, the Foreign Office advises against visiting remote caves in Southeast Asia without experienced guides. There is no direct impact on UK residents.