Laos Cave Rescue: Race Against Time Intensifies as Focus Shifts to Newly Discovered Shaft
Rescuers in central Laos are battling the clock to find two men still missing inside a flooded cave system, days after one survivor was led to safety and four others crawled out on their own.
The search operation has now shifted focus to a newly discovered vertical shaft that plunges more than 100 meters (328 feet) into a dark chamber below. Rescue teams hope this could provide a safer alternative route into the cave, but early assessments have painted a grim picture.
Earlier Monday, reports emerged that rescuers had detected a possible “knocking response” deep inside the cave network. Thai specialist cave diver Kengkard Bongkawong told CNN by phone on Monday morning: “We still cannot confirm that the knocking sounds came from trapped victims. However, we can confirm that there were definite knocking sounds in response to the signals.”
But later that evening, Australian diver Josh Richards, another member of the rescue crew, downplayed those reports. “There has been a lot of reporting suggesting that we heard knocking back. That is absolutely not true,” he told CNN. Richards suggested the noise could have been caused by bats, wind, or fissures in the rock, noting that “a lot of these caves have fissures through them as well, or very unusual sounds coming down from below. They didn’t sound like they were echoes or anything like that.”
Despite the conflicting accounts, the search continues with urgency. The two missing men are believed to have entered the cave via a different route from the others, complicating the operation. Rescuers are now awaiting advanced scanning equipment that can produce a detailed map of the cave’s layout, according to Kengkard. The equipment could be used as rescuers are lowered down the newly discovered shaft.
However, Josh Richards issued a stark warning: the shaft is “completely full of rockfall and landslide.” He added, “We’re not entirely sure what the next steps are.” A strategy meeting was scheduled for Monday evening local time to firm up the plan of action.
The ordeal began on May 20, when eight men entered a cave in central Laos’s Xaisomboun province in search of gold. Heavy rain blocked the exit, trapping the group underground. One man managed to escape and alert authorities, triggering a complex multinational rescue effort involving experts from around the world.
Five of the eight men were rescued over the weekend—one guided to safety on Friday, the other four managing to crawl out unaided on Saturday after extensive water drainage work. All five are now recovering in hospital, having survived more than a week on water and sleep to conserve their energy.
The remaining two men are thought to be in a “significant air pocket” roughly 100 meters farther into the cave. Richards described that passage as “an even tighter and more unpleasant” stretch than anything divers have faced so far, and the “only place” where the missing men could be. Despite the air pocket being an “amazing find,” he called the route “a fairly lethal passage.”
Rescuers hope the vertical shaft will connect to a passage beyond the chamber where the five survivors were found. They are working with a hand-drawn map based on accounts from the rescued men.
Conditions at the cave entrance remain extremely challenging. Recent rainfall has caused flash flooding at the entrance, hampering operations. Bounkham Luanglath, president of the Lao People’s Volunteer Association, said Monday that crews are continuing to “pump water out to drain the cave as quickly as possible.” Additional measures include blocking water sources and building more retention ponds to prevent further flooding.
In a late-night Facebook livestream early Tuesday, Thai diver Kengkard Bongkawong expressed optimism about rescuing the remaining two men but highlighted the dangers of operating during monsoon season. “To go down into these holes, to go down inside the cave, if suddenly it rains, dumping down some water, it’s like pouring water into a straw. Instantly, the straw will be filled up. You can’t get in. You can’t get out. That’s something we need to be mindful about and it’s the biggest risk.”
The international team continues to work around the clock, with Richards noting that divers are not yet sure what the next phase of the rescue plan will entail after failing to find a viable way down the newly discovered shaft. The clock is ticking, and every hour counts as monsoon rains threaten to close the window of opportunity.
— With reporting from CNN’s Becky Anderson