Key takeaways:
- One miner has been rescued from a flooded cave in Laos after being trapped for over a week.
- Seven miners entered the cave on May 19, with five located and two still missing.
- Rescue efforts are complicated by monsoon flooding, dangerous cave conditions, and the need for specialist divers.
Rescue teams have started removing miners trapped for over a week in a flooded cave in Laos’ Xaisomboun Province, officials confirmed Friday night. Video footage shared on social media showed a rescued man, appearing weak and disheveled, being helped out of a narrow crevice and taken to medical personnel. Kengkard Bongkawong, President of the Mettatham Association Rescue Unit, confirmed one person had been safely rescued, with four others still inside awaiting further assessment.
Seven artisanal gold miners entered the complex cave system on May 19 but became trapped when heavy monsoon rains caused flash flooding that blocked the entrance. Specialist divers located five of the miners huddled together on a rock inside the cave on Wednesday, capturing the moment on video. The men appeared stunned but alive, with one telling the camera, “Don’t worry about me, mum. The rescuers are here. I’m safe now.”
The cave’s conditions are extremely hazardous. Even before flooding, the maze-like network was nearly impossible to navigate. The round trip to the trapped miners takes trained divers about five hours through murky, water-filled passages with dead ends and sharp rocks. The monsoon season adds urgency, creating a “ticking clock” for rescue efforts.
Lead rescue diver Mikko Paasi described the environment as “so hostile that anything can happen.” Efforts to pump water out of the cave over five days have not succeeded, forcing the team to consider teaching the miners to scuba dive as a last resort. Paasi cautioned this option carries high risk for both the miners and divers due to the dangerous underwater conditions.
The rescue team has requested immunity from the Laos government for any potential casualties during the operation. Josh Morris, who helped lead the 2018 rescue of a youth soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand, emphasized the complexity of the mission: “Finding them was difficult, but finding them, in a way, was the easy part. You have to have a whole practiced, well-thought out plan to move people in conditions where the risks of serious problems is very high.”
Thai specialist divers, including one involved in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, are assisting with the operation. Bongkawong said the search for the remaining two missing miners will continue Saturday.
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