Cave divers are squeezing through narrow, flooded corridors in a delicate operation to reach seven villagers trapped underground in a cave in Laos for nearly a week. The villagers went into the cave in the central Laotian province of Xaisomboun last Wednesday in search of gold, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding which blocked the exit, the Associated Press reported, citing Laos and Thai rescue teams. Two Thai divers and a Finnish expert who helped in the 2018 dramatic cave rescue of a young soccer team in Thailand joined the risky operation Monday. The villagers are believed to be trapped deep inside the cave on “an elevated ledge inside the cave that benefits from continuous airflow,” state-run Lao News Agency reported. To reach them, rescuers will have to navigate a 340-meter (1,115 feet) tunnel, according to the Metta Tham Kalasin (MTK) Command and Control Center, one of the groups coordinating the rescue. Some parts of the tunnel are just 60 centimeters (23 inches) wide, so rescuers will need to crawl to get closer to the trapped group, the command center posted to Facebook. Images showed cables laid through a gap between the rocks to guide rescuers to its lower reaches. Specialist cave divers arrived on scene to help local emergency crews, on May 25, 2026. MTK Command & Control Rescuers wear helmets to crawl through dark flooded passages. MTK Command & Control Helmets, breathing masks and gas monitors are being used to monitor the level of oxygen and toxic gases in the narrow cave system, they added. Video filmed inside the cave, posted on the Facebook page of a Thai rescuer, showed rescuers moving in dark caverns almost filled with water. Efforts are being made to pump water out of the tunnels to make them easier to access. Outside the cave, a rope team was dispatched on rappelling mission to scan for possible routes to reach the villagers from four shafts that were spotted on the mountain above the cave, the group said. The rescue operation is unfolding in a mountainous area near Long Tieng in Xaisomboun province, known for its sweeping valleys and rich mineral reserves. Authorities were alerted to the trapped villagers by a member of the group who managed to escape before the exit was blocked, AP reported, citing Bounkham Luanglath, who leads Laos’ Rescue Volunteer for People. Villagers frequently visit the site to search for gold deposits despite repeated safety warnings from the authorities, Luanglath said. CNN has reached out to Laos’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. The Southeast Asian country is a one-party communist state that closely monitors the release of information. The post Rescuers race to reach 7 villagers trapped for a week in flooded Laos cave appeared first on Egypt Independent.
