XAISOMBOUN, Laos — 28 May 2026, Rescue teams are finalising the next stage of a difficult operation to extract five Lao men found alive inside a flooded cave in central Laos, while preparing to continue the search for two others still missing, according to a Thai rescue volunteer assisting the mission.
The seven villagers reportedly entered the cave in Xaisomboun province on 19 May to search for gold before heavy rain and flooding blocked their way out. Divers reached five of the men on Wednesday after more than a week underground, finding them alive inside the cave system. Rescuers have since been working to supply food, water and air while preparing a difficult extraction.
Thai rescue volunteer Ting Li Gengkat Bongkawong, who is leading a Thai team assisting the operation, wrote in a new Facebook update that the next mission plan was nearly complete and that rescuers were preparing to search for the two remaining missing men.
Earlier, Gengkat said the mission was far from over.
“The job is not finished. The next step is finding a way to bring all five people safely out of the cave, which is not easy at all. Safety must come first and mistakes cannot happen,” he wrote, describing tight crawl spaces stretching hundreds of metres and a flooded section that rescuers must navigate while ensuring enough air remains inside the cave.
Thai rescue personnel and expert cave divers, including a veteran of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, have joined Lao teams in the operation. Rescue workers have described narrow passages, floodwater, debris and limited air supply as major obstacles.
Reuters reported Thursday that Thai volunteers had confirmed five survivors had been found, while a Lao organisation claimed all seven had been located safely, a claim that had not been independently verified. The latest update from the Thai rescue team continued to describe two people as still missing.
Gengkat said the team had consulted experts from multiple fields and was adapting procedures to conditions at the site.
“This mission is extremely difficult. No one can be arrogant or think only their own knowledge matters. We must continue listening to specialists and adapt the correct procedures to the actual situation on site,” he wrote.
He added that rescuers were focused on extracting the five survivors while continuing to search for the two others whose condition remained uncertain.
“As the rescue team, we always hope they are safe. Families must not lose hope either,” he wrote.