OAN Staff Jenna Lee and Sophia Flores
11:23 AM – Friday, May 29, 2026
International rescue teams have successfully rescued the first of seven men trapped for over a week inside a flooded, remote gold mine in Laos, marking a major breakthrough in a high-stakes international mission.
The first survivor was brought to safety after a treacherous 37-minute extraction. Specialist divers navigated narrow, deluged tunnels, sharp rock formations and severe collapse hazards in near-zero visibility to pull the man through the completely submerged bottlenecks.
“The first one is out. Safe and sound!!!” wrote Manat Artmongkron, a rescue technician for the Thai rescue group Saithan Saphanboon Foundation, in a Facebook post confirming the breakthrough.
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The crisis began on May 19th when seven local villagers in central Laos’s Xaisomboun province ventured into the remote cave in search of gold ore and wildlife. Heavy monsoon rains triggered sudden flash flooding, sealing the exit with a wall of mud and water. One member of the group managed to escape just before the entrance completely became inundated and rushed to alert local authorities.
Due to the cave’s location in a rugged, remote mountain range, rescuers initially had to execute a grueling three mile hike up steep terrain just to reach the site. Heavy machinery has since been deployed to clear an access route, allowing support teams to transport heavy pumps, specialized lighting and vital gear.
On Wednesday, international diving teams —including veteran specialists who famously participated in the dramatic 2018 Tham Luang youth soccer team rescue in Thailand—finally located five of the seven trapped men huddled together on a rocky ledge roughly 980 feet from the cave entrance. The two remaining villagers have yet to be located.
Australian cave diver Josh Richards, who joined the multi-national operation on Friday, reported that underwater visibility is entirely non-existent as they prepare to extract the remaining four located survivors tomorrow.
“You’re essentially diving in coffee. You’re not going to be seeing anything through it,” Richards stated.
Time is rapidly running out as teams race to pump water out of the cave network ahead of the forecasted rains. Kengkard Bongkawong, head of operations for the Thai rescue group Metta Tham Rescue, warned on social media that the health of the remaining men is beginning to deteriorate and the threat of fresh rainfall could completely re-flood the tunnels.
“The rescue operation is extremely challenging, as it involves moving them through narrow passages stretching hundreds of meters and requiring underwater diving,” noted Bongkawong.
While the first rescued man has been hospitalized and is currently undergoing medical evaluation, doctors have reported him to be in stable condition. Dive teams are resting briefly before submerging back into the tight, 50-centimeter gaps to retrieve the remaining survivors one by one.
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