Here's the latest
• Rescue operation: One survivor was safely guided out of a remote cave in Laos on Friday after villagers were trapped there due to flash flooding over a week ago. Specialist cave divers on a multinational team have suspended the complex operation to free the other four known survivors until Saturday morning.
• On the ground: CNN is reporting exclusively from the scene. Divers were heard screaming “they are coming out” during a phone interview with CNN.
• Fight for survival: The five villagers were found huddled together Wednesday in a pitch-black chamber above the murky waters. The men appeared mostly well but have shared fears about remaining for much longer. Two other people believed to have entered the cave are still missing.
• Perilous conditions: The stranded men are over 800 feet (more than 200 meters) from the cave’s entrance, which slopes downward at a 45-degree gradient.
Who are the divers helping rescue survivors from the flooded Laos cave?
The effort to rescue the villagers trapped in a flooded cave in Laos has drawn on the expertise of cave and technical divers from across Asia, Europe and Australia, including veterans of the 2018 rescue of a youth soccer team trapped in Thailand’s Tham Luang cave.
Among the most experienced members of the operation is Finnish cave diver Mikko Paasi, who is based in Thailand and played a key role in the Tham Luang rescue. Paasi is a veteran technical diving instructor, underwater explorer and member of Surat Thani Rescue who has participated in cave exploration projects around the world.
Kengkard Bongkawong, from Thailand, also took part in the 2018 Tham Luang rescue. He told CNN that the experience has instilled confidence in himself and his team as they undertake another complex cave extraction mission.
The multinational rescue team also includes Japanese underwater explorer and technical diving instructor Yoshitaka Isaji, French cave explorer and diving instructor Robin Cuesta, Australian diver Josh David Richards, Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie, Indonesian diver Audita Harsono, and Thai divers Itsarachai Ardwichai, Norrased “Benz” Palasing, Manat K. Artmongkron and Chakkit Taengtang.
A timeline of how long the villagers have been trapped in the remote Laos cave
As the rescue team rests before resuming operations at 9 a.m. local time Saturday in Laos, four more known survivors are enduring perilous conditions in a cave for what is now nearly the tenth straight day.
Two others, who are believed to have entered earlier, remain missing and disconnected from the rescue team.
Here’s a timeline of the villagers getting trapped and rescue operations:
Cave diagram is based on information from the cave divers of Metta Tham Kalasin Command and Control Center.
One villager rescued from flooded Laos cave as operations end for day. Here's the latest
It’s 2 a.m. local time in Laos and here’s what we know.
The first villager has been rescued from the flooded cave in Xaisomboun province after being trapped for over a week – and four more known survivors await rescue operations resuming in about seven hours.
Two other people believed to have entered the cave earlier, separate from the five found together, remain missing. The rescue team said that they have not had contact with them.
The four people still trapped have started to show some health problems, including skin, stomach and intestinal issues. Mued, the first man safely guided out of the cave, had some problems with his hand and foot because he was “in the water and damp area for a long time.”
Meanwhile, rescue operations remain complex, with even more complications potentially arising due to projected rain over the weekend.
Here’s what to know:
- Perilous conditions: Divers Mikko Paasi and Benz Palasing described to CNN the perilous conditions they endured during the rescue Mued, who they guided out on Friday night, including navigating through pitch black, sharp rocks and cool water.
- Tomorrow’s rescue efforts: The operation to rescue the trapped villagers from a remote cave in Laos will resume at 9 a.m. local time. Heavy rain remains a major concern. If conditions worsen, “it would be a nightmare,” Paasi told CNN.
- First rescue: Mued, the first man rescued, was seen smiling and saying, “I’m all right. I’m still strong,” as divers escorted him through the system.
- 2018 Thai cave rescue: Kengkard Bongkawong, a cave diver helping in the Laos rescue operations, said that his experience in the 2018 Thai cave rescue has instilled confidence in himself and his team, helping shape today’s operations.
CNN’s Will Ripley and Kocha Olran speak with a rescue diver on the scene.
CNN’s Angie Puranasamriddhi, Sophie Tanno, Aditi Sangal, Mary Gilbert, Hira Humayun, Alessandra Freitas, Isaac Yee, Helen Regan and Kocha Olarn contributed to this report.
See the path rescue divers are facing inside the cave
The rescue team working to free four other villagers from a tight cave in Laos will resume their efforts tomorrow morning. They are facing perilous conditions, including steep passageways, icy cold waters and potentially more rain.
One person has been successfully rescued so far.
Here’s a look at what rescue divers are up against:
What it looks like inside the Laos cave
Video captured by specialist cave divers shows the harrowing route taken during the mission to rescue missing villagers from a remote cave in Laos.
See what it looks like in the narrow tunnels:
Video captured by specialist cave divers shows the harrowing route taken during the mission to rescue missing villagers from a remote cave in Laos.
Divers describe navigating through pitch black, sharp rocks and cool water
Divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased “Benz” Palasing described to CNN the perilous conditions they endured during the rescue of a villager who they guided out of a remote cave in Laos on Friday night.
Finnish diver Paasi said the villager, whose name is Mued, was brought out from a “tight spot” and with sharp rocks. The route is pitch black – even a light source doesn’t illuminate much, except for “brown and nothing,” he told CNN’s Will Ripley.
Paasi said he guided Mued, who was sandwiched in between him and the other diver Palasing.
Palasing, who did most of the communicating with the villagers in Thai, taught them how to correctly use the mouthpiece for the oxygen tanks, and wrap their mouths around it to avoid water being ingested.
The water being navigated, he said, was 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Farenheit).
Before embarking on the journey out, Palasing said he gave the villager some time to gather himself: “I let them meditate a little bit,” he said
The rescue itself was a source of relief to the divers because it shows that he system they have in place, works, said Paasi.
And the moment the villager made it out safely: “It was full of action, it was full of emotion,” Paasi said.
Risk of panic is one of the biggest challenges rescuers face, expert says
Teaching the trapped villagers how to dive out of the cave on their own is a big challenge — a task that would be difficult for even experienced divers, according to Charlie Roberson, a cave diving expert.
Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie told CNN today that rescue divers are teaching the villagers how to dive out of the cave themselves, as the space is narrow and the water levels are not coming down despite efforts to pump the water out.
Rescue operations have stopped for the night to give divers time to rest. A Thai divers group said the remaining people “are not yet ready to be evacuated.”
It is likely that the rescue team feels like they need to prepare them more to breathe underwater on a diving regulator, Roberson said. The risk of panic is the biggest risk rescuers face when they resume their mission, he added.
“If somebody panics, they not only put themselves at risk, but they put the rescuer at risk as well,” he said.
Ambulance drives from Laos cave after rescue operation
Exclusive footage shot by CNN shows the moment an ambulance believed to be carrying the first rescued villager out of the cave in central Laos.
One survivor was safely guided out of the cave before the divers suspended the complex operation to free the other four known survivors until Saturday morning.
Rescuer fears more rain as divers navigate zero-visibility flooded passage to free cave survivors
Mikko Paasi, a Finnish diver based in Thailand who is helping lead the operation to rescue villagers trapped in a flooded cave in Laos, told CNN’s Will Ripley that responders face a daunting challenge: a 98-foot (30 meter) flooded section that takes around 10 minutes to navigate and offers divers virtually no visibility.
Heavy rain remains a major concern, he added. If conditions worsen, “it would be a nightmare.” Although the operation is “very dangerous and very demanding,” he said that spirits among rescuers have been boosted by the successful extraction of the first survivor.
Paasi told CNN that rescuers are struggling to get the pumps to work to drain water from the cave, but efforts are still ongoing.
Paasi said the rescue team is following doctors’ instructions on what food to provide to those still trapped inside the cave and has also brought lights into the cavern.
How the 2018 Thai cave rescue experience is shaping Laos rescue efforts
Kengkard Bongkawong, a cave diver helping in the Laos rescue operations, said that his experience in the 2018 Thai cave rescue has instilled confidence in himself and his team.
“I trust in my team, I trust in myself and it is because of my good experience from the Thai cave rescue in 2018,” CNN producer Kocha Olarn translated from a phone call with Bonkawong.
Bonkawong said that he learned three main things from the 2018 Thai rescue: the importance of a central command system, leadership structure and local terrain knowledge.
“This is also very important, he needs to collect the local knowledge, local terrain, any bits of information that would help in the rescue operation, he will gather,” Olarn reported.
The divers leading rescue operations are from six nations: Thailand, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and France.
"I'm all right. I'm still strong," says first man rescued from flooded Laos cave
The first man rescued from the Laos cave was seen smiling and saying, “I’m all right. I’m still strong,” as expert divers escorted him through the system.
The team designated strategic areas inside the cave where survivors could rest and prepare for the next stage of the evacuation as they moved toward the entrance.
Mued was the first of five people found trapped in the flooded cave to be evacuated as part of a multinational rescue operation.
He was initially transported to chamber four of the cave, where divers prepared him to move through a narrow passage leading toward the cave entrance. A video shared by the rescue team shows the tight passageway, flooded with water, and Mued crying out as he was guided through the confined space with the help of other divers.
May marks the start of the rainy season in Laos as weather plays a role in rescue mission
As a reminder, a group of men went looking for gold deposits in a cave in Laos more than a week ago when torrential rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit of the cave, trapping them inside.
May is the start of the rainy season in Laos, and the Xaisomboun Province, where the cave is located, is typically one of the wettest places in the country annually. Multiple rounds of rain are likely through the weekend.
A CNN team on the ground reported that it was raining quite consistently the last few days and today provided the first break in the weather, which allowed cave divers to attempt the rescue operation.
“We’re still hoping that the weather stays dry. It’s rainy season, and if the rain were to hit, that could make this a very dangerous situation very quickly” for the trapped villagers in the cave and the rescuers who are trying to guide them out, CNN’s Will Ripley said from the scene.
If it rains heavily tomorrow, when rescue operations are expected to resume, rescue diver Kengkard Bongkawong told CNN producer Kocha Olarn “they may have to stop for the day.”
“The most important thing is the safety of the rescuers and the rescue divers themselves,” Bongkawong told Olarn.
The 4 known survivors still trapped in cave have stomach and skin issues
The four villagers still trapped inside the cave in Laos are starting to have some health problems, CNN producer Kocha Olarn reported, as she translated a phone call with Kengkard Bongkawong, a diver helping rescue the men from the flooded cave, live on CNN.
Cave rescue team has not had contact with the 2 other missing villagers
Kengkard Bongkawong, a diver helping with the rescue effort at the flooded cave, said that the rescue team has not had any contact with the missing two people unconnected to the five villagers found together.
“They haven’t had any contact with the remaining missing two people, and also he suspects that the area where the two might be would be about 25 meters (about 82 feet) away,” CNN producer Kocha Olarn translated live on air. “The challenge would be that the area would be even lower than the place where the five were found originally.”
Remember: Five men were found huddled together in the remote cave over a week ago. Two others are thought to have entered the cave earlier, separate from the five, and are still missing.
The survivor guided out of the cave today showed some health issues
The villager who was recovered from the cave in Laos today had some problems with his hand, foot and stomach, CNN producer Kocha Olarn reports.
The man showed issues in his hand and foot because he was “in the water and damp area for a long time,” she added, as she translated a phone call with Kengkard Bongkawong, a diver helping rescue villagers from the flooded cave, live on CNN.
Rescue operations will resume at 9 a.m. on Saturday
The operation to rescue the trapped villagers from a remote cave in Laos will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. local time, after the crew suspended the activities for the evening after 10 p.m. because “the divers and rescuers are very, very tired,” CNN producer Kocha Olarn reports from the ground.
Rescue operation concludes for the evening
The rescue operation to bring the remaining four men who have been located out of the cave has been suspended until tomorrow, a Thai divers group has confirmed, after the first man was safely brought to the surface following a nine-day ordeal.
It is expected to resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow local time.
“Rescue teams have pulled out for the night. The remaining four survivors are not yet ready to be evacuated,” the group wrote in an update on Facebook on Friday night local time.
It is 10:30 p.m. in Laos right now.
They added that the team will regroup, review their plan and continue the rescue operation tomorrow.
Father of rescued man expresses his "deepest gratitude" to rescuers
The father of the first man to exit from the Laos cave after a nine-day ordeal expressed his “deepest gratitude” to rescuers, speaking just moments after his son was safely brought above ground.
The man — named as Mued — was pulled to safety mid-evening local time on Friday.
“Thank you so much to the rescue team. I want to express my deepest gratitude,” Mued’s father said.
He added, “My brothers, sisters, children, and grandchildren, thank you all so much for leaving your work behind and coming all this way to help us.”
Timeframe to rescue villagers trapped in cave will depend on a few factors, expert says
Each villager being rescued from the remote cave in Laos will require a few hours to come out as the complex mission involves tight passageways, low oxygen levels and water in the cave, according to Gretchen Baker, national coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission.
The time for each villager’s rescue is also going to depend on their respective strength after spending days trapped in the cave without food or water.
When the villagers are all out of the cave, they will receive a health checkup from doctors, who will be looking for signs of dehydration and malnutrition, as well as making sure their organs look strong and their vitals are normal so the survivors can regain their strength, Baker said.
A dramatic rescue operation in central Laos is unfolding. Here's the latest
A dramatic rescue operation is unfolding inside a flooded cave in central Laos, where a group of five villagers became trapped underground, as divers race against time and freezing conditions to bring them up safely.
CNN has been reporting exclusively from the scene.
One survivor was brought out of the flooded chamber late Friday evening, guided by a rescue diver of a multinational team. Four others remain inside and are awaiting assessment before evacuation, Kengkad Bongkawong, the head of the Metta Tham Kalasin Rescue, wrote on Facebook.
Police officers and other emergency workers are waiting alongside several ambulances, ready to transport him and any injured villagers who are brought out of the cave.
The challenges:
- The journey to the entrance is slow and dangerous, with experienced divers taking up to two hours to navigate the full route.
- Rescuers inside the cave have been training the trapped villagers to use diving equipment, helping them into wetsuits and teaching them how to move through the submerged passages by holding onto the legs of expert divers guiding them through the darkness.
- Conditions underground are perilous: The water is ice cold, visibility is poor and tight flooded chambers — some measuring only just 60 centimeters (about 24 inches), the width of an average refrigerator — leave little room for error.
Officials say that five men ventured into the cave over a week ago, drawn by the promise of gold deposits.
A torrential downpour caused flash flooding inside the cave system and sealed the men’s exit. Two others are thought to have entered the cave earlier, unconnected to the five, and are still missing. The search for the two remaining missing persons will resume Saturday.
CNN’s Laura Sharman and Kocha Olarn contributed reporting.
