Laos Cave Rescue: Thai Divers Join Race to Save Seven Trapped in Flooded Cavern
Seven people have been trapped for five days inside a remote, flooded cave in central Laos, and Thai divers who helped rescue a young football team in 2018 have now joined the effort to bring them out.
The group entered the cave in Xaysomboun province last Wednesday to hunt for wildlife and search for gold, according to reports. Heavy rain triggered landslides that sealed the cave entrance, leaving them stranded inside. Laos’s communist government, which keeps a tight grip on its media, did not respond to requests for comment.
Footage from Thai volunteer rescue teams at the site shows personnel crawling and climbing through dark, narrow passages, some nearly filled with muddy water. One tunnel leading into the cave is just 60 centimeters tall. Rescuers outside are pumping water out of the passageways, while those inside are installing rope guides to navigate the tricky terrain.
“The route is not complicated, but the space is the problem,” said Kengkard Bongkawong, head of operations for Metta Tham Rescue, a Thai group. “It’s so narrow that we have to crawl and tilt to pass through. The rocks are really sharp.” Kengkard, who took part in the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018, said rescuers have not detected any signs of life, but he believes the trapped group is still alive. A survivor who managed to escape told them of a deeper spot in the cave that stays above water.
“I’m confident they are still alive because there is still air in the cave,” he said. On Sunday night, rescuers reached a point just 40 meters from where they think the group may be sheltering, but had to stop because rain had washed sediment into the passages, blocking the way. “The gap is only 50 centimeters wide. We need to clear the sediment first,” Kengkard added.
Finnish diver Mikko Paasi and Thai diver Norrased Palasing, both veterans of the Tham Luang rescue, joined the operation on Monday. Reaching the cave requires a 5-kilometer hike up mountainous terrain, so rescuers stayed overnight at the site. “The difficulty depends on the rain,” said Jakkrit Taengtang, a Thai rescue technician, in a Facebook update. “We had to retreat earlier because the water level was rising.”
It remains unclear whether the trapped group was searching for gold as part of small-scale artisanal mining or working for a company. Alluvial mining for gold, diamonds, and platinum has surged in Laos in recent years, with nearly 200 such mines opening between 2023 and 2025, according to the Stimson Center, a U.S. think tank. Last year, Laos banned new permits for alluvial gold mining due to environmental concerns.