XAYSOMBOUN, Laos — Rescue teams in Laos have pulled four more men alive from a flooded cave after they were trapped underground for 10 days, while the search continues for two others still missing.
The men were rescued on Saturday in Xaysomboun province, a day after another survivor was brought out. They were among a group of seven villagers who entered the cave to search for minerals, including gold ore, before heavy rain triggered flash flooding and blocked the exit with water, sand and gravel. One villager managed to escape earlier and alerted authorities.
Photos and video shared by Lao and Thai rescue groups showed the survivors being carried on stretchers, covered in mud, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in thermal blankets. They were weak but alive after being stranded on a rocky ledge about 300 metres from the cave entrance.
The rescue has involved a multinational team of divers and emergency workers from Laos, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Finland and Australia. Some members of the operation had experience from the 2018 rescue of a youth football team from Thailand’s Tham Luang cave, one of the world’s most complex cave-rescue missions.
Rescuers said conditions inside the Laos cave remain extremely dangerous. Narrow flooded passages, muddy water, poor visibility and unstable clay walls have slowed the operation. One rescuer compared the conditions to “diving in coffee,” reflecting how little divers can see underwater.
The group was located earlier in the week, but teams could not immediately bring them out because of the cave’s flooded and unstable sections. Rescuers first supplied the trapped men with water, food and thermal blankets while planning the extraction.
Authorities said two men remain missing, and search teams are preparing to move deeper into flooded sections of the cave. Officials have not ruled out the possibility that the remaining men may still be alive, but they said the operation is becoming more difficult the longer it continues.
The incident has highlighted the dangers of entering caves during the rainy season in Southeast Asia, where sudden downpours can rapidly flood underground passages and cut off escape routes.
For the families of the rescued men, Saturday brought relief after days of uncertainty. For the families of the two still missing, the wait continues as divers push further into the cave in the hope of finding more survivors.
