Five men trapped for a week inside a flooded cave in Laos have been found alive, sparking emotional celebrations outside the cave — but the dangerous rescue mission is far from over.
Two others remain missing.
The dramatic discovery came after rescue divers spent days pushing through narrow, muddy, water-filled passageways in a remote cave system in central Laos. Video shared on social media appeared to show the five survivors crouched on a rock ledge deep inside the dark chamber, surrounded by floodwater.
The men had been trapped since last Wednesday after reportedly entering the cave in Xaysomboun province to hunt for wildlife and search for gold. Heavy rain then flooded the cave and blocked their way out.
When divers finally reached them, the men said they were hungry and dehydrated.
“There’s no need to cry,” one rescuer told them in the emotional footage, as the men sat together in the darkness waiting for help.
Outside the cave, the news set off a wave of relief. Rescuers jumped, hugged, and cheered after learning the group had been found alive. Families who had spent days waiting in fear finally saw a glimpse of hope.
One boy reportedly spotted his father among the survivors and raised his hands in gratitude. A rescue worker responded, “I am happy for you, son.”
But while the discovery brought a brief moment of joy, officials warned that getting the men out safely could be extremely difficult.
Finnish cave diver Mikko Paasi, who was involved in the famous 2018 rescue of a Thai youth soccer team from a flooded cave, was among the divers who reached the trapped men. He described the discovery as an overwhelming moment but cautioned that the mission was not finished.
“What a feeling,” Paasi wrote on social media, before adding that the five survivors were still deep inside the cave’s terminal chamber. He said they were healthy and in good spirits, but the extraction ahead would “ain’t going to be easy.”
The rescue has drawn help from Thailand and international cave-diving experts, including veterans of the 2018 Tham Luang rescue, when 12 young soccer players and their coach were brought out alive after more than two weeks trapped underground in northern Thailand.
The Laos cave rescue has been extremely dangerous from the start.
Teams had been trying to reach a chamber about 984 feet from the cave entrance, crawling and climbing through tight tunnels. In some areas, the passageways were only about 24 inches deep. Other sections were nearly filled with muddy water, sediment, sand, and gravel.
Rescuers also faced the threat of rising water, unstable passages, and potentially contaminated air.
Paasi described the environment as “extremely remote and hostile.” Reaching the cave site required a 2.5-mile trek through jungle, followed by a brutal underground route through floodwater, tight restrictions, collapse hazards, and poor air conditions.
On Tuesday, rescue crews focused on reinforcing safety measures and installing internet cables inside the cave so teams could communicate, monitor conditions, and provide first-aid guidance if needed.
Kengkard Bongkawong, head of operations for the Metta Than Rescue group from Thailand, said rescue teams are now working on how to locate the remaining two missing men.
Health checks and first aid were given to the five men found alive, he said.
Rescuers have stayed hopeful throughout the operation because the group reportedly entered the cave with enough supplies to last several days. Still, the biggest challenge has been the relentless rain.
Even as crews worked to pump water out of the cave, fresh storms created new danger. One rescue technician said he had to urgently retreat from the cave late Tuesday when rain began falling again, fearing more water could rush inside.
“We did our best,” he said in a Facebook video.
Divers later re-entered the cave Wednesday to bring the survivors oral rehydration salts and water. The next step is figuring out how to bring the men out as quickly and safely as possible.
Officials said the cave itself had not collapsed. Instead, flooding carried sand and gravel into the passageways, blocking a crucial exit route and trapping the men underground.
It remains unclear whether the group had been searching for gold on their own or working as part of a mining operation.
Gold mining has surged in Laos in recent years, especially alluvial mining, which involves extracting valuable minerals from riverbeds and sediment. A U.S. think tank found that nearly 200 such mines opened in the country between 2023 and 2025. Last year, the Laos government announced a ban on new permits for alluvial gold mining because of environmental concerns.
For now, the rescue effort continues.
Five men have been found alive in the darkness after a week of fear. But with two still missing and floodwaters still threatening the cave, the desperate race underground is not over.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.