Rejoicing in Laos Prospector rescued from cave after ten days
Great relief in Laos: the first of the five trapped people is safe.
Image: dpa
The rescuers had decided to attempt the rescue because the water level had dropped.
Image: dpa
Access to the cave is extremely narrow.
Image: dpa
The rescuers had to fight their way through extremely narrow tunnels.
Image: dpa
According to experts, the trapped gold seekers are considered to be physically and mentally very stable.
Image: dpa
The men had been waiting in the cave for ten days.
Image: dpa
Rescuers discovered the five men in the cave on Wednesday.
Image: dpa
The rescuers' work is very complicated and dangerous.
Image: dpa
In some places, the rescuers can only crawl through the narrow passages.
Image: dpa
International specialists such as the Finnish rescue diver Mikko Paasi are taking part in the rescue mission.
Image: dpa
The rescuers have to endure a lot during their mission.
Image: dpa
Great relief in Laos: the first of the five trapped people is safe.
Image: dpa
The rescuers had decided to attempt the rescue because the water level had dropped.
Image: dpa
Access to the cave is extremely narrow.
Image: dpa
The rescuers had to fight their way through extremely narrow tunnels.
Image: dpa
According to experts, the trapped gold seekers are considered to be physically and mentally very stable.
Image: dpa
The men had been waiting in the cave for ten days.
Image: dpa
Rescuers discovered the five men in the cave on Wednesday.
Image: dpa
The rescuers' work is very complicated and dangerous.
Image: dpa
In some places, the rescuers can only crawl through the narrow passages.
Image: dpa
International specialists such as the Finnish rescue diver Mikko Paasi are taking part in the rescue mission.
Image: dpa
The rescuers have to endure a lot during their mission.
Image: dpa
Rescuers in Laos have been battling water and claustrophobic tunnels for days. Now the relieving news: the first gold prospector has been freed from the narrow cave. What made the rescue so difficult?
29.05.2026, 20:45
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- After more than a week, the first of five gold prospectors has been rescued from a flooded cave in Laos, according to emergency services.
- The man had been "successfully rescued", a Thai rescue team wrote on Facebook on Friday.
- A photo showed three men helping a man covered in mud over uneven ground.
Huge joy in Laos: The first of five gold prospectors trapped in a flooded cave in Laos has been rescued. The Laotian rescue organization Rescue Volunteer for People announced that so much water had been pumped out of the cave that a safe rescue was possible in the afternoon (local time).
In a video broadcast by the US broadcaster CNN in the evening, the man covered in mud was seen slowly climbing out of the mountain, supported by helpers. The other four men are now to be gradually freed from their claustrophobic prison.
In the meantime, they also have health problems. Some had skin problems because of the humidity and others had intestinal problems because they had not been to the toilet for a long time, said Kengkard Bongkawong from the Thai rescue team in a telephone interview with CNN.
The group had been trapped hundreds of meters from the entrance for ten days after heavy rains flooded the gold mine in the remote northern province of Xaisomboun, triggering a landslide. Colleagues who were able to save themselves raised the alarm.
Although the gold prospectors had already been discovered alive in a chamber of the cave on Wednesday, it took a long time before the actual rescue operation could begin. The rescue operation was considered extremely risky due to narrow tunnels, high water levels and an acute risk of collapse. At the same time, there is now little hope of finding two men who are still missing alive.
Procedure practiced intensively
Prior to the rescue, the rescue teams had intensively rehearsed the evacuation procedure. According to the emergency services, every detail was rehearsed to ensure the safety of both the men and the divers in the extremely narrow tunnels of the cave. Published photos and videos showed a rescuer attached to a specially developed stretcher during the exercise, which was specially designed for the extremely narrow passages.
According to the Laotian rescue organization, the water levels had previously dropped significantly due to uninterrupted pumping work. The teams had hoped for this. Experienced cave divers had recently explained that the gold seekers would hardly have been able to dive through the narrow tunnels because they had no experience.
Apparently, however, they did have to dive at least some of the time. Malaysian cave diver Lee Kian Lie told CNN that the men had to hold on to the leg of a diver swimming ahead in order to be guided safely through the flooded tunnels. "It's not easy," a Thai diver involved in the rescue commented on social media. No further details were initially released.
Meanwhile, relatives waited tensely outside the cave for positive news. "I'm so glad they came to help us," US broadcaster CNN quoted Samorn Ian, the wife of one of the men. She had not been able to sleep since the accident. "But knowing that my husband is alive makes me so happy."
No trace of the two missing men
On the other hand, there is hardly any chance of finding two other missing persons. Rescue workers have now searched around 95 percent of the tunnel system, but have so far found no trace of either of them, Finnish cave diver Mikko Paasi told ThaiPBS World. "We don't have many places left to search," he explained. The chances are "very slim".
Paasi is considered one of the most experienced cave divers in the world and is helping to coordinate the mission in Laos. He already played a key role in the spectacular rescue of a youth football team from the Tham Luang cave in Thailand in 2018. This time, too, he was one of the specialists on the front line.
Paasi emphasized that there were no dry places in the previously inaccessible areas of the cave where people could have survived for a week, referring to the two men who were thought to be missing. However, the search for them is to be continued.
The difficulty is that the area where they could be is even deeper than the place where the group was found, diver Kengkard Bongkawong told CNN. There is still no contact with the missing people.
"We are feeling with our arms and legs"
The rescue was considered high-risk from the outset. According to the divers, there is practically no visibility in the narrow tunnels. "We use our arms and legs to feel our way underwater," said Paasi. In some cases, divers even have to exhale in order to squeeze through the narrow passages. In addition, there is always a risk of new flooding or collapses when it rains.
The emergency services had also searched for alternative access points and natural shafts in the mountain through which a rescue would be possible. But apparently without success.
In the meantime, the authorities have used heavy equipment to build a road through the jungle to the cave - as the remote region is extremely difficult to access. This was intended to make it easier for ambulances to get there, among other things. A catch basin was also built to collect the water that was pumped out.
Trapped people accustomed to confined spaces
Paasi had already explained before the rescue that the five survivors were surprisingly stable both physically and mentally. As miners, they were used to confined underground spaces and did not suffer from claustrophobia. They also had food and water with them because they wanted to spend several days in the mine anyway. However, they are said to have been extremely hungry recently and stressed that they would not be able to hold out much longer, as the media reported, citing the rescuers.
Other international specialists were also recently requested. According to reports, Australian diving specialist Josh Richards and other experts from Japan and France, among others, have now arrived at the scene of the accident to assist with the rescue.