Asia & Pacific
Seven villagers became trapped in the cave in central Xaysomboun province on May 20 when flash floods blocked their exit as they hunted bats for food and searched for gold in old mining areas.
This handout image released by Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin on May 26, 2026 shows rescue workers inside a cave in Xaisomboun province in Laos. Five of seven people trapped in a flooded cave for a week in Laos were found alive on May 27, Laotian and Thai rescuers said. (AFP/Handout/Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin)
Rescuers called off their search Saturday for two men trapped in a semi-submerged cave in Laos for more than two weeks, as the site became unstable and survival hopes faded.Seven villagers became trapped in the cave in central Xaysomboun province on May 20 when flash floods blocked their exit as they hunted bats for food and searched for gold in old mining areas, state media said.
Rescue teams located five of the men alive a week later, with one extracted by divers on May 29 and four guided out the following day after water was pumped from the flooded cavern. The two others remained missing despite intensive searching by Laos and international rescue teams.
