Rescue divers share the equipment usage guidelines with people trapped inside a cave during their rescue mission in Xaisomboun Province, Laos, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on May 30, 2026. (Image: Reuters/Norrased Palasing)
01 Jun 2026 06:29PM
(Updated: 01 Jun 2026 06:32PM)
VIENTIANE, Laos: Rescuers searching for two men missing in a partially flooded cave in Laos for about two weeks said they were scouring for a new entry point on Monday (Jun 1) as heavy rain slowed divers' efforts inside.Rescue divers found five other men alive around 300m from the mouth of the cave in Xaysomboun province last week after they had been stranded inside by flash floods for a week.Foreign divers extracted one of the men on Friday, and four more found their own way out on Saturday. Rescue teams had delivered food and medicine for them and had pumped water from the cave for days, giving them an easier exit.One of the five survivors, identified as Laen, said in a video released by state media on Monday the men had gone into the cave to hunt bats for food and then figured they could extract some gold from old mining areas."But then rain came and the cave was flooded," Laen says in the video."We went to look for food and thought that if we could make money as well, then why not? That's the way we all live in the village."Earlier state media reports said the seven men had entered the cave to search for gold.The two missing men are believed to have gone deeper inside, leaving rescuers scrambling to find an alternative access route after recent rainfall made conditions in the cave more risky.
