Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleSeven people became trapped in a flooded cave in Xaysomboun province, central Laos, after entering on 19 May and being cut off by heavy rain and landslides. Five of the men were located alive on Wednesday, nine days after they became trapped, but two are still missing. Thai rescue specialist Kengkard Bongkawong highlighted the extreme difficulty of extracting the five men due to narrow, partially submerged passages and the critical need for oxygen. Rescuers must navigate complex, pitch-black tunnels, some as narrow as 23 inches and completely underwater, requiring careful coordination. Teams are focused on ensuring adequate oxygen supply for the trapped men and continuing the search for the two missing individuals.In fullLaos cave rescuers say mission not over and more oxygen needed to get men out safelyThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

Seven villagers entered the cave in central Laos five days ago looking for gold when heavy rain caused flash flooding, trapping them inside.

Rescuers are desperately trying to save a group of people who remain stuck within a Laotian cave after flash flooding blocked the only exit of the system.

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Even before the men went into the Laos cave to fossick for gold, the rain has started. Their families told this masthead that they had been warned not to go, “but they didn’t…

Five villagers stuck in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week were found alive, rescuers said Wednesday, but two others are missing.

The cave is located in a rugged, remote area in Xaisomboun province’s Longcheng district, about 120 kilometres north of the capital, Vientiane.

For now they remain stuck in an underground cavern as rescuers continue to search for the two remaining people.

For now they remain stuck in an underground cavern as rescuers continue to search for the two remaining people.

Seven Lao nationals entered the cave in Xaisomboun province last week before a landslide blocked their exit.

Five people who were trapped in a flooded Laos cave for eight days have been rescued.

Five of the seven divers have been found alive so far, but none have been rescued yet.

Rescuers say extraction efforts complicated by low oxygen supplies, dark and narrow spaces, plus more rain

Hope has returned for the five trapped men deep inside a flooded Laos cave. For more than a week, they huddled together above the murky waters in the pitch black, more than 260…

Five villagers trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos for more than a week have been found alive, while two are still missing.

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Footage shows rescuers squeezing themselves through tiny gaps to reach five out of seven villagers that had been trapped in a flooded Laos cave for a week. Video shared on social…

Rescuers rushed on Thursday to pump water from a flooded cave in Laos, where seven Laotians have been trapped for more than a week.

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Rescuers rejoiced as they found five of the seven men trapped in a Laos cave. But they caution a high-stakes extraction lies ahead, "and it ain't going to be easy".