Lost in the Dark: The Harrowing Rescue of Five Gold Seekers Trapped in a Flooded Laos Cave
Hope has flickered back to life for five men trapped deep inside a flooded cave in Laos, more than a week after they ventured in search of gold. Huddled together on a narrow ledge above murky, rising waters, more than 260 meters from the entrance, they spent days in pitch darkness, uncertain if anyone would ever find them.
On Wednesday, salvation arrived. Rescuers emerged from the darkness, their headlamps illuminating the rocky cavern. “There are people here to help now,” said Norased Palasing, a Thai specialist cave diver and part of the multinational team involved in what has become a race against time. “The important thing is that you’re alive. It’s okay, it’s okay, you’ve done really well. Don’t cry.”
One of the trapped men, who gave his name as Ing, spoke into the rescuers’ camera: “Don’t worry, Mom. The rescue team has reached us now. We’re safe. I miss Mom and Dad so much. We’ll probably get out tomorrow or the day after.”
Above ground, desperate loved ones and rescue workers erupted in joy. Finnish diver Mikko Paasi — part of the operation — hailed the team’s “amazing work” on Instagram, but cautioned that a high-stakes extraction lies ahead, “and it ain’t going to be easy.”
The five men entered the cave last Wednesday, lured by the promise of gold deposits — a speculative pursuit that has surged in recent years, according to research by US think tank the Stimson Center. A torrential downpour triggered flash flooding inside the cave system, sealing their exit. Two others, believed to have entered the cave separately, remain missing.
A Laos-led rescue operation quickly took shape. When news of the disappearance spread, an A-team of internationally renowned cave divers converged on the landlocked Southeast Asian country, organized by the Lao People’s Volunteer Association, according to its president, Bounkham Luanglath. The team included Kengkard Bongkawong from neighboring Thailand and Paasi from Finland — a reunion of sorts: eight years ago, both played key roles in the dramatic Thai cave rescue that saved 12 boys and their soccer coach.
Now, in the hot and humid Laotian early summer, the team trekked through dense jungle to reach the cave, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) east of the backpacker hotspot of Vang Vieng. One piece of good news: according to the state-run Lao News Agency, the men are on an elevated ledge that “benefits from continuous airflow.” Another is that — apart from severe hunger — they appear mostly well, though they have shared their fears about staying much longer.
“If we don’t get any food, we’re out of strength,” one of the men told a rescuer on camera. “If we’re still here after another two days, we’ll be dead.” Another man, who gave his name as Ee, said he is suffering from chest pain and coughing continuously.
Myriad challenges await rescuers as they attempt to retrieve the men. The cave’s entrance plunges downward at a 45-degree gradient. The length of rope used by rescuers indicates they are around 260 meters deep, Kengkard said. “It’s so narrow that you have to tilt sideways, duck low, and crawl flat on your stomach to get through,” he added. The team navigated muddy passageways and underground streams, using cables to guide the way — sometimes only their heads and shoulders above water, at other times removing equipment to squeeze through cracks. Video footage shows them scaling shafts by rope and crawling through tunnels that narrow to just 60 centimeters — the width of an average refrigerator.
One of the latest hazards: hydrogen sulfide, a foul-smelling gas released by decomposing bat droppings inside the chamber, which caused some crew members to faint, Kengkard told CNN. Rescuers believe the best course of action is to drain the cave so the five can crawl out. “The route they used to enter has chambers along the way where people can stop and rest. The victims know that when water rises, they have to retreat to those safer points,” Kengkard said. Along the route, where air is limited, they will need oxygen tanks and specially adapted cave stretchers in case the villagers become too weak.
Excavation teams stationed several kilometers from the cave have been working to create an access route. While sending water, food and medicine inside, the aim is to position a large generator as close to the entrance as possible. “If we succeed, we’ll be able to pump water out of the cave much faster, which could allow us to cancel the backup plan that would require the victims to dive out,” Bounkham told CNN. “It would be extremely difficult for them to do so.”
The rescue team is expected to be bolstered Friday by the arrival of more experts from Japan, France, Indonesia and Thailand, bringing the total number of specialist cave divers on the ground to seven. The operation’s remoteness cannot be overstated: the cave lies in central Xaisomboun province, many hours’ drive from the nearest cities on muddy roads lashed by the rainy season. Rescuers and their equipment must make a 4-kilometer trek through difficult terrain just to reach the cave’s entrance.
Remarkably, cave teams are communicating via LAN internet cables they managed to run deep into the cave, giving clear directions to prevent people from crossing paths on the one-way route. Kengkard said he drew confidence from his experiences during the 2018 Thai cave rescue in Tham Luang, where a young soccer team and their coach were trapped for 18 days. “I observed the operational structure used during Tham Luang and adapted that same system here,” he said.
Once the five villagers emerge, their recovery will begin. Throughout their ordeal, they have eaten, slept and survived entirely within the cave, and will need health and memory assessments once they resurface. For the families of the two still missing, the wait for news continues.
CNN’s Ally Barnard, Sandi Sidhu and Jadyn Sham contributed to this report.