What we covered here
• Four villagers freed: Four more men were freed from a flooded cave in Laos after becoming trapped ten days ago when torrential rain blocked their exit. The villagers, who had been searching for gold, managed to walk and crawl out on their own before being met by divers preparing to mount a rescue operation.
• Rescue effort: Days of pumping water above ground managed to significantly lower water levels in the cave amid concerns of further rainfall, which could have forced rescuers to call off the operation. Today’s rescue came one day after the first villager was guided safely out on Friday.
• Next steps: Rescuers were weighing up whether to resume searching for two villagers who remain unaccounted for. The cave, a limestone structure, is located in the middle of the foothills of a mining project near the village of Long Tieng, hours away from the nearest cities and on muddy roads that have been lashed by the rainy season.
Our live coverage has ended for today. Read up on the Laos cave rescue here.
Four trapped villagers walk free amid major rescue operation at flooded cave in Laos
After a long and complex operation inside a flooded cave in a remote area of central Laos, earlier today, the men at the center of the mission did something few expected: they walked out.
It wasn’t what the international rescue operation had planned for.
When the first of the trapped group of five men dived through the flooded tunnels on Friday, the efforts were paused and there was expectation it could be hours, even days before the others emerged.
Instead, after water levels dropped, the group scrambled their way out, taking even rescuers – who had planned a high-risk strategy to guide the villagers through flooded, zero-visibility tunnels to safety – by surprise.
As our live coverage winds down for now, read more about the miraculous rescue operation here.
Laos state media warned against unregulated mining this week
All of the villagers who were trapped in a flooded central Laos cave are understood to have entered it in search of gold, part of an informal mining economy that has expanded across parts of Laos in recent years, particularly in remote limestone and river basin regions where formal livelihoods are scarce and enforcement is limited.
This sits within a wider surge of unregulated, small-scale and alluvial mining across the Mekong basin, consisting of hundreds of suspected sites operating entirely outside of formal oversight, acording to the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.
The dangers of this informal economy are well-documented. In the northeastern mountainous Xieng Khouang province in 2021, seven people were killed during an illegal gold-digging operation when heavy rains destabilized the ground and triggered a catastrophic shaft collapse.
Human rights groups and regional NGOs have long warned that economic desperation in rural communities – where a lack of wage labor and vulnerable subsistence agriculture leave few alternatives – drives locals to take life-threatening risks for immediate income.
Laos state media covering the incident have heavily emphasized warnings against illegal mining, highlighting the strict environmental and safety hazards it poses to rural communities, casting a shadow over the future of the rescued men.
While their survival is being celebrated as miraculous, their triumph could soon be overshadowed by government penalization as authorities look to crack down on the expanding illicit gold trade.
Here's what we know so far about the two remaining trapped villagers
Though five villagers who were trapped in a cave in central Laos are now free, two more people remain missing underground after they entered in search of gold ten days ago, according to authorities.
Here’s what we know about the remaining trapped villagers:
- The two remaining missing people are men, Laos state media The Vientiane Times has reported.
- The men are believed to have entered the cave earlier than the five other villagers who were found huddled together and were later rescued.
- Local residents had previously reported that people had entered an area believed to be near where the two missing individuals may be located, and that sounds of vehicles and people talking could be heard from there.
- The president of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association told The Vientiane Times yesterday that he was “fairly confident” that the two men were still alive, “because there are no signs of death and there is no foul or stale odor, which is a positive sign.”
- Rescue efforts are still ongoing to find the missing men. Malaysian rescue diver Lee Kian Lie said that the team is trying to move machinery deeper into the cave to try to pump out more water before attempting to find the two villagers.
CNN’s June Jeong, Kara Fox and Angie Puranasamriddhi contributed to this reporting.
Onset of darkness and rain shortly after Laos rescue highlights operation's stunning timing
After four more trapped villagers managed to escape a flooded cave in Laos earlier today, the sharp onset of rain, thunder and darkness in recent hours has shone a light on the incredible timing of the high stakes rescue operation.
Had the four villagers not left the cave system in the narrow window of time they did, CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley said rain could have flooded the cave again, blocking rescue efforts. Two other people remain unaccounted for, and rescuers say they are assessing the situation.
“This is the exact kind of storm that caused the cave to flood,” he added. “This is why they got stuck down there, and now the storm is coming up again after an extraordinary two-day almost pause in the rain.”
One of the divers involved in the operation told CNN earlier today that the success of the rescue partly hinged on changing over the water pumps and moving them into a better position to drain the flooded cave.
The rescued villagers became trapped while searching for gold
Five villagers have been rescued from a cave in central Laos after becoming trapped there by flash flooding caused by torrential rain ten days ago.
The men had entered the cave in search of gold, authorities said. US think tank the Stimson Center wrote last year that unregulated mining in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia has boomed in the last decade.
Luen Meethong, the sister of one of the men who was trapped, told CNN that her brother had only recently begun prospecting for gold.
According to Meethong, gold panning is uncommon and only started recently in the remote village.
Samorn Ian, the wife of another rescued villager named Kamla Ian, told CNN that her husband had once served in the country’s military, and that, when he became trapped in the cave, it was the fourth time he had gone looking for gold.
French cave diver Robin Cuesta, who has been assisting with the rescue operation, told CNN that some of the men continued panning for gold inside the cave while awaiting rescue, and that they even found small amounts.
“What else do they have to do?” Cuesta said before the men had been rescued.
CNN’s Will Ripley, John Mees, Laura Sharman and Bex Wright contributed to this reporting.
Laos cave was scarier than 2018 Thai rescue operation, diver says
Finnish rescue diver Mikko Paasi said he was “more scared” in the Laos cave than during the 2018 Thai cave rescue of teenage soccer players, due to the extremely narrow passageways in the cave system.
His comments speak to the extraordinary courage of the four villagers who managed to walk and crawl out of the cave in central Xaisomboun province earlier today before rescuers could reach them.
Paasi, a veteran technical diving instructor and underwater explorer, was among the most experienced members of the Laos operation. He said there were similarities between the Laos and Thai rescue operations, but “the environment was completely different.”
Amid the latest operation, Paasi said he was having to push through “a couple of hundred meters of constant restriction.”
Where is the Laos cave at the center of the rescue operation?
Five men have now been freed from a flooded cave in central Laos after becoming trapped there while searching for gold ten days ago, according to authorities.
The cave, a limestone structure, is located in the middle of the foothills of a mining project near the village of Long Tieng, known for its sweeping valleys and rich mineral reserves.
The town is in Xaisomboun, a central province of the landlocked Southeast Asian nation in an area about 55 kilometers (35 miles) east of the lush, scenic backpacker hotspot of Vang Vieng.
Now a settlement of a few thousand people, Long Tieng was home to the secret headquarters of the CIA in the 1960s and the early 1970s.
The cave is many hours’ drive from the nearest cities, on muddy roads that have been lashed by the rainy season.
To access the site, a CNN team had to embark on a 45-minute helicopter journey, a 30-minute drive and then a short hike across rugged terrain.
Torrential rain was what triggered the flash flooding that blocked the exit of the cave, trapping the villagers inside more than a week ago.
Rescuers have worked to pump water out from several downstream points to lower the water level inside the cave, Thai rescue diver Kengkad Bongkawong told CNN earlier this week.
The five trapped men were located on Wednesday in a chamber deep underground, more than 260 meters from the cave’s entrance, which plunges downwards at a 45-degree gradient.
In pictures: Freed villagers receive medical attention after leaving flooded Laos cave
Four more men have now escaped a flooded cave in central Laos after they became trapped there while searching for gold more than a week ago.
Upon leaving the cave, the men were wrapped in foil blankets and carried into waiting ambulances and other vehicles. One of the rescued men was photographed smiling and sitting on a stretcher.
Take a look at some recent images from the rescue site below:
Rescue divers describe how villagers reacted after escaping cave
We’ve also been hearing from French diver Robin Cuesta about how the trapped villagers first responded after crawling out of the mouth of the cave, where they had been stranded for more than a week.
Asked about the potential health impacts of the ordeal, Cuesta said he thought the men were very resilient. “I think they are strong. They kept their consciousness, they could still, like, talk, they could still have a laugh,” he said.
“They were laughing and said, ‘oh thank you,’” Cuesta added. Other divers agreed, with one saying the fact they made their way out of the cave themselves demonstrated their physical abilities.
Success of rescue operation hinged on changing position of pumps, rescue diver says
Australian diver Josh Richards told CNN the success of the rescue operation partly hinged on changing over the pumps and moving them into a better position in order to drain the flooded cave.
“The short version is they changed over the pumps this morning, so some of the pumps that were running were moved into a better position, so they could work more efficiently,” Richards told CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley just now.
Richards said that while he was gearing up to go into the cave to deliver food and medicine, “four miners popped out, so obviously the water level had dropped far enough, and they’d made their way out on their own.”
"We were joking about it," rescue diver tells CNN of men walking out by themselves
Finnish rescue diver Mikko Paasi said the cave divers had been joking that the trapped men would free themselves of their own accord if the water levels inside the cave dropped far enough — but they didn’t expect it to actually happen.
“And that actually happened.”
However, he added it was the best outcome for all involved.
French diver Robin Cuesta said there had been concerns that not all of the four men would have made it out alive if they had had to be escorted individually.
Paasi said that rescuers were now planning a search for the remaining two men, who have not yet been located, although this is not expected to involve divers. The cave will be dried out so that remaining chambers of the cave can be searched, he claimed.
“We hope that they actually got away and they are somewhere else,” he said.
Mother of freed villager wipes eyes as she expresses thanks for support
The mother of one of the villagers rescued from the flooded cave in Laos today wiped her eyes in an interview with CNN as she thanked everyone for their help in saving her son.
As she walked away, another stretcher could be seen being carried down a hill and placed in a pickup truck by emergency services.
The four trapped men rescued today managed to walk and crawl out of the cave on their own, according to Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association.
Four more villagers have escaped a flooded Laos cave. Catch up here
Four more men have escaped from a flooded cave in Laos after being trapped there for ten days, unexpectedly navigating their way through the underground tunnels themselves and surprising rescue divers who were preparing to enter the cave to try and get them out.
This comes after one other villager was recovered from the cave yesterday night local time.
Here’s the latest:
- As rescue workers were preparing to enter the cave, the trapped villagers managed to escape on their own this afternoon, according to Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association.
- The men were able to walk and crawl out by themselves because the water level inside the cave had dropped substantially, Luanglath said. Emergency pumping operations were carried out throughout the night.
- The health of those rescued remains unclear after they were trapped without food and water for more than a week underground.
- Two other people believed to have entered the cave earlier than the other men remain missing. The rescue team said yesterday that they have not had contact with them, but today shared that they are assessing the situation and planning the next steps for their search and rescue.
CNN’s Sophie Tanno, Will Ripley, Rebecca Wright, Angie Puranasamriddhi, Isaac Tellechea, June Jeong and Kara Fox contributed to this reporting.
Rescued villagers wrapped in foil blankets and taken away on stretchers
Footage near the rescue site on Saturday showed the four men who had just escaped from a flooded cave in Laos wrapped in foil blankets and being carried on stretchers into waiting ambulances and other vehicles.
CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley, who is on the ground in Xaisomboun Province, described astonished onlookers smiling and filming on their phones after the four men made their way out of the cave by themselves despite perilous conditions.
Their escape was made possible after days of pumping water out of the cave, which managed to significantly lower water levels, and came amid concerns of possible rain, which could have forced rescuers to call off the operation.
Two more villagers remain unaccounted for.
“The thunder is not a good omen,” CNN correspondent says as rescuers weigh next steps
Rescuers are weighing up whether to resume search operations for the two villagers still missing, CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley said while warning that poor weather conditions could be approaching.
Speaking to the potential challenges ahead for rescuers on the ground, Ripley said that if rain floods the cave again, it could be too dangerous for divers to go down there. “The other factor is the location in the cave, where these remaining two would have to be is not an area that these divers have been able to safely access yet,” he said.
Indonesian diver Audita Harsono also said rescuers don’t yet know the exact status of further rescue operations to help the two more missing villagers.
Those two villagers are believed to have entered the cave earlier, separate from the five who were found huddled together and have now been rescued.
Villagers navigated highly dangerous conditions in Laos cave to free themselves
In what rescuers would label as nothing short of miraculous, the four men who were trapped in a flooded cave in Laos navigated their way through a highly dangerous and sophisticated dive operation in order to free themselves.
CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley, who is on the ground in Long Tieng, pointed out that there would have been many potential obstacles while they made their way through the dark and narrow rocky passageways. They were brought out of the cave after they walked and crawled out on their own.
It seems like the villagers took their chances after noticing that the water levels in the cave had dropped significantly, thanks to pumping efforts above ground. “In which case, they just went for it,” Ripley said.
Ripley noted that there were earlier fears of bad weather, which could have hampered the rescue mission.
The first man to make it out alive from the cave yesterday had been escorted out of the cave sandwiched between two expert divers; a format which rescuers had intended to use for the other men.
The health of the men remain unclear after they were trapped without food and water for more than a week underground.
Men left cave as rescue diver prepared to go in: "I was literally putting my wetsuit on"
More details are emerging about the incredible rescue operation at the Laos cave site this morning.
Australian rescue diver Josh Richards told CNN that he was getting into his gear to enter the cave just as the four men walked out on their own.
“I was literally putting my wetsuit on to head in when they emerged on their own,” he said.
Emergency pumping operations were carried out throughout the night, which helped to significantly lower the water level inside the cave.
Search is still on for two people missing in Laos cave
While five men have been brought to safety after being trapped in a flooded cave in Laos, two others are still missing.
Those two villagers are believed to have entered the cave earlier, separate from the five who were found huddled together.
The rescue team said they are currently assessing the situation and planning the next steps for their search and rescue.
Malaysian rescue diver Lee Kian Lie said that the team is trying to move machinery deeper into the cave to try to pump out more water before attempting to find the two villagers.
At the same time, search teams are exploring another side of the mountain.
Local residents had previously reported that people had entered an area believed to be near where the two missing individuals may be located, and that sounds of vehicles and people talking could be heard from there.
Rescue personnel are now trying to locate that area and determine whether there may be an alternative route to reach the two missing individuals.
The remaining four men crawled out of the cave on their own
Rescuers were preparing to enter the cave this morning to assist the four trapped villagers, but before the team could reach them, the survivors managed to walk and crawl out on their own, according to Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association.
The four men were able to get out on their own because the water level had dropped significantly.
