Laos cave rescue: Four trapped gold miners walk out on their own after 10 days underground
Four men trapped for 10 days in a flooded cave in central Laos stunned rescuers by emerging on their own Saturday, a day after the first survivor was pulled out. Two others remain missing deep inside the tunnel system.
A sudden escape
Rescuers were still pumping water and preparing for another complex extraction when the four remaining survivors appeared at the cave entrance on Saturday afternoon. The men had been trapped since 20 May, when a flash flood cut off their exit from a remote gold mine in Xaysomboun province.
They did it all on their own — we were just pumping water outside the cave. I was about to go back in when they suddenly came out.
The Australian cave diver told dpa the men managed to reach the exit without assistance, likely because water levels had dropped enough that they no longer needed to dive through flooded passages. Videos showed the men emerging one by one to cheers from rescue workers, then being wrapped in thermal blankets and placed on stretchers.
Ten days underground
Seven villagers entered the narrow cave system on 20 May searching for gold. Heavy rains triggered a flash flood that blocked their way back. One man escaped early and alerted authorities. For a week, there was no sign of the others.
On Wednesday, rescue teams located five survivors in a chamber roughly 300 metres from the entrance. The men complained of hunger and pain. The first was extracted on Friday evening in an operation that took 37 minutes. The four others followed on Saturday, walking out under their own power.
The missing two
Two men from the original group have not been found. The first rescued man told rescuers the pair had descended about 500 metres deeper into the cave than he had. Asked if they could still be alive, he replied he feared it was too cold there.
We have searched most of the tunnel system and found no trace of them. There are not many places left to look.
The Finnish cave diver told ThaiPBS World the chances of finding the two alive were "very low." Rescue teams have covered roughly 95 percent of the tunnel network.
An international effort
Specialist divers from Thailand, Australia, Finland, France, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia joined Laotian teams for the operation. Several had participated in the 2018 rescue of a youth football team from Thailand's Tham Luang cave, where 12 boys and their coach survived 18 days underground.
- Seven villagers enter a cave in Xaysomboun province searching for gold; a flash flood traps them inside. One man escapes and alerts authorities.
- Rescue teams locate five survivors in a chamber roughly 300 metres from the cave entrance.
- The first survivor is extracted in a 37-minute operation. Specialised divers from France and Australia arrive to reinforce the team.
- The four remaining survivors walk out of the cave on their own as water levels drop. Two men remain missing.
The Laos cave presented its own challenges: passages as narrow as 50 centimetres, icy and murky water, and dangerously low oxygen levels. At one point, rescuers considered teaching the trapped men to scuba dive as a last resort. The falling water level made that unnecessary.
What comes next
Doctors are now examining the five survivors. The search for the two missing men continues, though hopes are fading. Authorities have not indicated how long the operation will remain active.
