Five Survivors, Two Missing: The Laos Cave Rescue That Echoes a World’s Fear (opens in new tab)

Seven men entered a cave in Laos's remote Xaisomboun province on May 19, 2026, searching for gold. Flash flooding sealed the entrance, trapping them underground for over a week. On May 27, elite cave divers — including Finnish rescuer Mikko Paasi and Thai diver Kengkad Bangkawong, veterans of the 2018 Thailand Wild Boars rescue — found five survivors alive on an elevated ledge, weak and hungry but safe. Two remain missing. The rescue raises urgent questions about informal mining poverty, regi...