Thai rescue teams are continuing efforts to reach seven workers trapped inside a flooded gold mining cave in Laos, with rescuers saying they are now believed to be just 30 metres away from the point where the survivors may be sheltering.
The men have been trapped inside the cave in Long Chaeng district, Xaisomboun province, since 19 May after heavy rain caused water to rush into the tunnel and block the entrance.
Thai rescue personnel joined the operation after Lao authorities formally requested assistance. Around 26 rescuers and volunteers travelled from Nong Khai to Laos before being transported closer to the remote site by helicopter provided by Lao authorities.
Among those participating in the mission is Thai rescue worker and influencer Jakkrid Tangtang, also known as “Pon Jakkrid”, who shared video footage from inside the cave showing extremely difficult conditions.
The footage revealed narrow muddy passages where rescuers were forced to crawl one by one through darkness using only rescue lights.
Rescue leader Kengkaj Bongkaowong said teams believe the trapped workers may have moved to a higher area inside the cave to escape rising floodwaters. He added that rescuers are now only about 30 metres from the elevated point where survivors are believed to be waiting for help.
Authorities said the route from the cave entrance to the suspected location stretches around 340 metres, with some sections only about 60 centimetres high.
Rescuers are also facing major obstacles from continuous rainfall, rising water levels and low oxygen inside the tunnel, forcing operations to pause at times.
According to local reports, about 10 villagers had entered the tunnel to search for gold when flash flooding struck during heavy rain. Three workers managed to escape, while seven others became trapped inside.
SISAKET — 25 May 2026, two construction workers died and another was critically injured on Monday after a concrete beam and scaffolding collapsed at police residential flat currently under construction from fifth floor. A fourth worker miraculously cheated death by hanging onto a beam, watching in horror as his colleagues fell to the ground.
The accident occurred on Monday at approximately 10:00 at the construction site on Sri Wiset Road, located directly behind the Muang Sisaket Police Station. An investigating officer from Muang Si Sa Ket Police Station, coordinated with emergency medical teams and rescue volunteers to rush to the scene.
At the scene, the deputy commander of the Sisaket Provincial Police, the deputy superintendent for prevention and suppression at Muang Sisaket Police Station, alongside related officials, inspected the five-story complex under construction. The ground floor of the building is designed as an open stilt area, while the second through fifth floors are slated for police residential quarters.
Debris from wooden formworks, bent steel rods, and shattered scaffolding sections were found scattered across the fifth floor and onto the concrete ground below, where evidence of the brutal impact was clearly visible. First responders rushed three injured workers to Sisaket Hospital: Sangwan Chaibamrung, 58; Nuay Rayabsri, around 55; and Phitak Phenjaem, 50. All three remain in critical condition due to the force of the fall.
Sangwan and Phitak succumbed to severe impact injuries while Nuay remains in critical condition due to the severe trauma in the emergency intensive care unit, where doctors are conducting urgent brain scans, though he remains conscious and responsive.
Upon questioning Siriwat Namwiset, 44, the worker who was at the scene and narrowly escape the plunge, revealed that at the time of the incident, he was working on the fifth floor alongside his three colleagues to repair a concrete beam formwork. Concrete had been poured into the frame earlier, but the crew discovered structural instability and temporarily halted the pour to reinforce the outer frame before moving forward with the project.
He continued that while they were working on the structural adjustment, they suddenly heard a loud cracking sound. They were startled and asked each other where the noise came from. He even told his friends that it wasn’t from his footsteps. Before he could even finish his sentence, the entire beam structure and the scaffolding they were standing on collapsed instantly. His three co-workers, who were positioned near the edge, plunge to the ground below in front of him.
He also said that he thought he was surely dead because the floor beneath his feet completely vanished. In a split-second reflex, he grabbed onto a piece of the beam structure that hadn’t detached yet with all his might. He shut his eyes, expecting to fall after his friends, but miraculously, he managed to hang on.
Police have cordoned off the scene. Forensic experts, structural engineers, and safety inspectors have been brought in to thoroughly examine the building’s structural integrity and scaffolding to pinpoint the root cause if it stemmed from a structural failure, faulty materials and equipment, or substandard working procedures.
Initially, officers will question additional witnesses, site supervisors, and the construction contractor, including review structural safety documentation to proceed with legal steps. If criminal negligence that led to the deaths and injuries is discovered, formal charges will be filed against those responsible.
K9 units join rescuers as they continue search operations at a collapsed building in Angeles city in Pampanga province, north of Manila, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
ANGELES, Philippines (AP) — Rescuers pulled out three people Monday from an immense pile of rubble that was all that remained of a nine-story hotel which collapsed while under construction in a northern Philippine city, bringing the death toll to four with 17 others still missing, officials said.
Two of the men were dead, while emergency personnel struggled in the early morning hours to revive one in an ambulance near the pile of concrete slabs, twisted iron bars and aluminum scaffoldings that was all that remained of the building in Angeles City of Pampanga Province. They eventually gave up and drove away.
The poignant scene was witnessed by a small group of journalists, including from The Associated Press, who watched hundreds of rescuers led by firefighters and police scrambling for hours to extricate the men, who were at the time alive but trapped under concrete slabs and iron bars.
Rescuers carry a dog as they scale down toppled scaffoldings of a collapsed building where multiple people are believed to be trapped in Angeles city in Pampanga province, north of Manila Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Rescuers tried to provide water and medicine intravenously to one of the trapped men in a desperate effort to keep him alive in the scorching summer heat, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez told the AP.
“He never made it despite all the efforts,” he said.
One of the three people pulled out from the rubble on Monday was unidentified and was not on the list of the 17 missing, who were mostly construction workers, according to Angeles city information chief Jay Pelayo.
The fourth dead victim was a Malaysian tourist trapped in a budget inn that was partly hit by the avalanche of debris from the collapsed building. Another guest at the inn was injured but managed to dash out, officials said.
A day after the unfinished building collapsed with a loud crashing sound after a fierce thunderstorm, Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin said rescue efforts would still not be shifted to a body retrieval operation.
“My best hope is that we can rescue more people alive,” Lazatin told the AP. “We don’t want to give the families of the trapped workers any bad news.”
Anxiety and fear among relatives of the trapped workers, who are waiting in sheds near the rubble, have deepened.
“I’m losing hope because of what I see — slow rescue work,” said Lea Mendoza Casilao, a 47-year-old sardine factory worker whose boyfriend, a mason, was among those still trapped in the rubble.
She brought a week’s supply of rice and sardines for him at the construction site, but she said they would never meet as scheduled over the weekend after the building where he was sleeping crumbled before dawn on Sunday.
Rescuers continue search operations at a collapsed building where multiple people are believed to be trapped in Angeles city in Pampanga province, north of Manila Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Lazatin said rescuers were moving carefully because huge slabs of concrete were being held up precariously by a tangle of aluminum scaffolding and could crash down on rescuers.
Twenty-six workers were either rescued or managed to run out of the collapsing building, where they slept on pieces of plywood on the ground floor.
National police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said his force will support an “ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the incident and possible violations of safety and building regulations.”
Angeles City hosted one of the largest U.S. Air Force bases outside of the American mainland, helping turn Angeles and outlying cities and towns into entertainment and commercial hubs in the main northern Philippine region of Luzon.
Clark Air Base, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Manila, closed in the early 1990s. The former base has become a bustling industrial and tourism enclave called the Clark Freeport Zone, and is still surrounded by remnants of U.S. base-era red-light strips, bars, nightclubs, tattoo shops and budget hotels.
Police in Pattaya are investigating the death of a South Korean tourist whose body was found floating in the sea near Koh Sak on Monday morning.
At around 10:00 on 25 May, officers from Pattaya City Police Station, marine rescue teams and disaster prevention officials travelled by rescue boat to waters north of Koh Sak near Koh Larn, about six nautical miles off Pattaya, after receiving reports of a body floating face down in the sea.
Rescuers found the body of a foreign man believed to be a South Korean national, aged around 50, wearing a white polo shirt with black stripes and green shorts.
Officials said the man had likely been dead for at least six hours. No signs of physical assault were found on the body.
Police recovered a wallet containing a South Korean driving licence identifying the man as Jeong Jun Hwan, three South Korean bank ATM cards and a room key marked with the number 10.
The body was transported to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok for a detailed autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Police said authorities are continuing to coordinate with relevant agencies to confirm the victim’s identity and investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
SATUN — 24 May 2026, children from Thailand’s Mani ethnic minority, an Indigenous forest-dwelling community in southern Thailand, are blending traditional survival skills with modern education through cultural demonstrations aimed at preserving their heritage while adapting to life beyond the forest.
At Ban Wang Sai Thong tourist attraction in Satun province, Mani schoolchildren dressed in school uniforms and sportswear demonstrated how to build a traditional temporary shelter known as a “thap”, attracting attention from visitors.
The activity was organised by Ban Wang Sai Thong School, where Mani children showcased traditional knowledge passed down through generations.
The students demonstrated how to construct shelters using overlapping leaves for protection from sun and rain, light fires for warmth, and roast wild yams, a staple food traditionally gathered from underground. They also displayed traditional hunting tools used by their ancestors.
Prapha, a teacher closely involved with the students and known locally as “Teacher Toi”, said the demonstrations reflected skills deeply rooted in the children’s daily lives.
“This is 100% natural for them because it is how they actually live in the forest,” she said. “The school simply helps fill in what is missing, including education, social skills and communication abilities, so they can confidently welcome tourists and explain their culture.”
Beyond the traditional skills, teachers said the children were also developing ambitions for the future.
One student, identified as Jub, said she hoped to become a nurse to care for her frequently ill parents, while several classmates expressed dreams of becoming athletes.
The students admitted studying at school was more difficult than building shelters, but said they enjoyed learning and wanted broader opportunities in the future.
Teachers said many Mani children had gradually adapted to wider society and earned small incomes by helping clean community areas or rowing boats for tourists.
However, access to education remained limited because most families lived in temporary shelters without electricity or internet access.
“Homework can mostly be done only at school because their shelters have no electricity or internet access,” Prapha said, adding that basic supplies such as pencils, erasers and notebooks were still lacking.
Prapha currently oversees 43 Mani children ranging from kindergarten to primary school level.
Teachers said encouraging the children to confidently present their traditional way of life not only helped support community tourism but also strengthened their ability to adapt to modern society without losing their cultural identity.
JIUQUAN, China — 24 May 2026, China launched three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Sunday night, beginning a mission expected to result in the country’s first year-long human stay in orbit as Beijing advances plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030.
The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft lifted off at 23:08 Beijing time, or 15:08 GMT, aboard a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency and Reuters.
The crew includes mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Li Jiaying, also known in Cantonese as Lai Ka-ying. Reuters reported that Li, a former Hong Kong police officer, is the first astronaut from Hong Kong to take part in a Chinese space mission. AP identified her as Lai Ka-ying, noting that Chinese authorities refer to her as Li Jiaying using the Mandarin transliteration of her name.
One of the three astronauts is expected to remain aboard Tiangong for about a year, setting a national record for China and allowing scientists to study the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, including radiation exposure, bone-density loss and psychological stress, Reuters reported. The astronaut selected for the extended stay will be determined later, depending on the mission’s progress.
Since 2021, China has regularly launched three-person Shenzhou crews to Tiangong for missions lasting about six months. According to Xinhua, the Shenzhou-23 crew is expected to carry out more than 100 science and application projects involving space life science, aerospace medicine, materials science and microgravity physics.
Xinhua also reported that the mission will test China’s first autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking procedure with Tiangong’s core module, a capability considered important for future lunar operations and more complex orbital missions.
The launch comes as China and the United States continue expanding rival lunar exploration programmes. China has said it aims to land astronauts on the moon before 2030 and plans to establish a permanent lunar research base with Russia by 2035. Reuters reported that Beijing has been testing hardware linked to those ambitions, including the heavy-lift Long March-10 rocket, the Mengzhou spacecraft and the Lanyue lunar lander.
Meanwhile, NASA says its Artemis programme is designed to return astronauts to the moon and establish a long-term lunar presence as preparation for future human missions to Mars. NASA has described Artemis II as the first crewed test flight of its deep-space exploration systems ahead of later lunar landing missions.
China has not yet carried out a crewed lunar landing, but it has achieved several major robotic milestones in recent years. In 2024, China became the first country to return samples from the far side of the moon, a mission widely viewed by space analysts as a demonstration of the country’s growing deep-space capabilities.
Reuters also reported that the Shenzhou-23 mission follows an earlier disruption in China’s space station programme. The previous Shenzhou-22 launch was moved forward after the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was reportedly damaged by space debris in orbit, requiring another vehicle to return three astronauts safely to Earth.
The extended Tiangong mission is expected to provide Chinese scientists and engineers with additional data on how astronauts, spacecraft and support systems perform during longer stays in orbit, as Beijing prepares for more ambitious human spaceflight missions beyond low-Earth orbit.
Thai folk music group Ponglang Sa-on was forced to temporarily halt its comeback concert in Sweden after the venue became overcrowded during the band’s first European performance in nearly 20 years.
The popular group recently reunited and launched a European concert tour, kicking off in Stockholm. However, the show was interrupted after organisers and security officials reportedly struggled to control the large crowd.
Eed Ponglang Sa-on, the group’s leader, posted an apology to fans on social media, saying authorities had ordered the performance to stop temporarily for safety reasons.
“Sorry to fans in Stockholm. For safety reasons, officials asked us to pause for a while. The venue is overcrowded,” he wrote.
Band member Duangrudee ‘Lulu’ Phonam later said she and fellow member Khwannanpha ‘Lala’ Ratchata had not yet been able to perform because the crowd had exceeded safe capacity.
Lala later wrote that officials decided to stop the concert because the situation had become difficult to control, with people reportedly climbing into the venue as thousands gathered to watch the show.
In a livestream after the incident, Eed described having “mixed feelings” about the event.
“I’m happy to see the power and unity of Thai people living abroad. Many foreigners also came wearing Thai costumes. Some travelled for hours or flew in to see us,” he said.
Lala added that the audience had reached “tens of thousands,” prompting organisers to end the performance due to safety concerns.
PHETCHABURI — 25 May 2026, A food delivery rider has been arrested after allegedly entering the bedroom of two teenage sisters in the middle of the night and sexually assaulting them in Cha-am district, according to the victims’ family.
The incident allegedly took place at about 02:30 on 19 May at a home in Cha-am municipality, Phetchaburi province.
The father of the girls, identified as Siri Pongsap, 45, said his daughters, were asleep when a man wearing the uniform of a delivery service worker allegedly entered their bedroom.
The older sister, 18, identified under the pseudonym “A”, said she and her younger sister had gone to bed around midnight. More than two hours later, she awoke feeling someone touching her.
After realising the person was not a family member, she screamed, causing the suspect to flee from the bedroom, she said.
The two sisters chased him outside the house, where the suspect allegedly attempted to escape on a white Honda Wave motorcycle.
The older sister said she kicked the motorcycle, causing it to fall, while their father, awakened by the screams, ran from another room and restrained the suspect until police arrived.
The father said the suspect claimed someone had sent him a message asking him to meet one of the girls at the house, an explanation the family did not believe.
Police later detained the man after the family filed a complaint at Cha-am Police Station.
The father said relatives of the suspect had attempted to negotiate with the family to avoid legal action, but he insisted on pursuing the case.
He added that his daughters had recently seen the suspect back at work delivering food on the same motorcycle allegedly used during the incident, leaving the family fearful for their safety.
“The girls are afraid and do not dare go out,” he said, calling on authorities to pursue the case fully.
Police had not immediately released details of charges or the current legal status of the suspect.
CHIANG MAI — 25 May 2026, A popular Thai Facebook page has warned consumers that cheap gold-coloured foil imported from China and sold online as edible bakery decoration may not be safe for consumption.
The page, Drama-addict, said on Monday that a follower had alerted it to gold-coloured foil from China being sold at bakery supply shops as edible decoration. The concern began after the follower used a translation app to scan labels on small vials of the product.
According to the page, the translated label described the product as copper-based foil intended for arts and crafts, not for human consumption. Despite that warning, the item was allegedly being sold under edible baking supplies.
The page said similar products were also being sold on major e-commerce platforms, with some listings showing total sales of more than 10,000 units. The administrator purchased samples of the imported product and said the low price — about 20 baht per vial — was an immediate warning sign, as genuine edible gold leaf in similar quantities would normally cost far more.
After receiving the product, the administrator carried out several informal checks. He said genuine gold leaf is usually beaten so thin that it breaks apart and almost disappears when rubbed between the fingers. The sample, however, reportedly rolled into small clumps and metallic flakes.
The administrator also conducted a burn test, saying genuine gold does not oxidise when exposed to flame. When the imported foil was scorched, he said, it quickly turned black. The page said the reaction suggested the product was not genuine gold but another metal or alloy.
The page concluded that the product was not suitable for consumption and appeared to be intended for craft use. It accused some sellers of mislabelling the item online and in shops as “food-grade edible gold.”
The administrator warned that consuming such products could pose a health risk, particularly if they contain metals not approved for food use. He said the apparent sales volume was concerning, with online listings showing tens of thousands of units sold.
It remains unclear how many consumers may have already eaten pastries decorated with the product. The page urged relevant agencies to inspect the products and take action before consumers are put at further risk.
To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of Vietnam, will pay an official visit to Thailand from 27-29 May, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
To Lam, accompanied by his spouse and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, is scheduled to meet Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand and hold bilateral talks with the Thai prime minister at Government House.
The visit will focus on advancing the Thailand-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), which covers cooperation in security, trade and economic integration, particularly through the “Three Connects” strategy aimed at strengthening links between the two economies.
The two sides are also expected to discuss cooperation in science, technology and innovation, as well as efforts to strengthen people-to-people ties.
The trip marks To Lam’s first visit to an ASEAN member state since assuming his new position in April 2026. It also comes shortly after Thailand and Vietnam upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
During the visit, To Lam is also scheduled to travel to Udon Thani province to meet the Vietnamese-Thai community and visit the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site.
The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Vietnam.
Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, with bilateral trade exceeding US$22 billion in 2025. Thailand is also among ASEAN’s largest investors in Vietnam, particularly in energy, manufacturing, retail, logistics and infrastructure projects.
