Monsoon Rains Flood Laos Cave, Trapping Seven Gold Miners in Xaisomboun Province

Seven Lao nationals entered a cave in Xaisomboun Province, Laos, in search of gold and became trapped when monsoon rains flooded the cave’s entrance, according to NBC News and ABC News.

NBC News said the five men were trapped more than 800 feet from the entrance after a flash flood sent water gushing into the cave’s narrow passages, and it described Mued Duangsomdy, 23, as becoming the first of the men to emerge from the cave amid a multinational rescue operation.

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ABC News reported that the search for two remaining gold miners was expected to resume on Thursday after monsoon rains disrupted the rescue effort, and it said a member of the rescue team told ABC News that rescuers planned to rappel down a newly discovered 196-foot-deep shaft.

NBC News quoted Thai member Chakkrit Taengtang as saying an earthquake had caused the cave entrance to collapse and that the chambers inside the cave were now flooded.

ABC News added that Laos officials learned of the trapped men when a sixth miner who avoided being trapped got out and alerted authorities.

ABC News said Robin Cuesta, a diver, told ABC News that a search team planned on Thursday to rappel down the newly discovered 196-foot-deep shaft in hopes it will lead to a chamber where rescuers suspect the two miners might be.

NBC News described Josh Richards, an Australian diver, as saying, "It is an incredibly hostile environment," and it quoted him on the fear of water filling the area when there is not enough room to put his head up straight.

ABC News

ABC News also addressed the “knocking sound” that rescue workers reported earlier this week, and it quoted Richards on NBC’s "Today" show: "That was me in the actual vertical tube, knocking against the wall and then trying to listen for a response."

Le Monde reported that the rescue team announced on social media that the first victim was successfully rescued and taken out of the cave on Friday evening, May 29, and it said the other two members of the group remained missing.

NBC News said Mued emerged from the cave Friday night, covered in mud and unsteady on his feet, and it quoted him saying, "I was so damn happy."

NBC News said finding the five men was only the first step and that rescuers knew getting them out would not be easy in the face of jagged rocks, dirty water, near-zero visibility and the risk of panic.

ABC News reported that there have been no new signs indicating where the missing miners are in the underground labyrinth of narrow tunnels, and it said the rescue operation inside the cave has been idle for several days due to heavy monsoon rains hitting Xaisomboun province.

Le Monde said five of the seven men were found alive on Wednesday, huddled in a narrow shaft about 300 meters from the cave entrance, while the other two members remained missing.

NBC News described rescuers as making the perilous journey in and out of the cave multiple times to bring food and water, and it said diving operations were suspended for fear that divers could also become trapped if there were a sudden downpour.

ABC News quoted Richards as saying rescuers suspect the missing miners could be in a sixth chamber past the one where the five other miners were located, while Richards also said some rescued miners told officials there were only six of them trapped in the cave.