LONDON — In Laos, five individuals have been discovered inside a submerged cavern, as stated by the chief of a Thai rescue unit invited by the Vientiane administration to participate in emergency aid, while the hunt persists for two additional individuals still missing.
Kengkard Bongkawong, the operations director for the Metta Tham Rescue team, communicated via a Wednesday Facebook post that the five located individuals were "doing well."
"The search continues for 2 more," Bongkawong added, who has consistently been posting video updates about the search on his Facebook profile.
Members of a rescue team work to save seven people trapped in a cave, at a location given as Xaisomboun Province, Laos, in this handout image released May 25, 2026.Metta Tham Kalasin Rescue/via Reuters
Laotian and Thai rescue teams engaged in the effort indicated that a group of local residents from the Xaisomboun province in central Laos entered the cave seeking gold on May 19, but intense rainfall resulted in rapid flooding that obstructed the exit, according to the Associated Press.
Bounkham Luanglath, the head of the Laos' Rescue Volunteer for People organization, informed the Associated Press on Monday that one of the local residents managed to escape prior to the cave entrance being blocked, subsequently alerting officials regarding the situation.
As reported by the AP, individuals assisting with the rescue included divers from multiple countries who were participants in a challenging 2018 rescue operation in northern Thailand, where 12 students and their football coach were stranded for over two weeks inside a cave before being safely rescued.
ABC News' Will Gretsky assisted in the creation of this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com