Villagers who were trapped and found in a flooded cave are seen in a video in Xaisomboun province, Laos, May 27, 2026.Benz Norrased Palasing Seascout via AP
The endeavor to find two remaining gold miners thought to be confined within a waterlogged cavern in Laos is scheduled to recommence on Thursday. This follows a halt in the rescue operations due to monsoon rainfall, as informed by a member of the rescue team to ABC News.
Last week, five other miners were successfully extricated. According to rescue personnel, one of these individuals was trained in scuba diving to navigate their escape to the cave’s opening.
Laotian authorities were alerted to the situation when a sixth miner, who managed to evade confinement, emerged and notified officials, stated rescue workers.
Robin Cuesta, one of the divers involved in the rescue mission, informed ABC News that a search contingent intends to descend a recently discovered shaft, measuring 196 feet in depth, on Thursday. Their hope is that this shaft will lead to a chamber where they surmise the two miners may be located.
Approximation of the cave site in Laos based on information from rescuersPhotos: Benz Norrased Palasing Seascout via AP
The rescue operation within the cave has been suspended for several days owing to the severe monsoon showers affecting the nation’s Xaisomboun province, according to officials involved in the rescue.
As of Wednesday morning, there have been no fresh indications of the whereabouts of the missing miners within the subterranean network of constricted tunnels, Cuesta communicated to ABC News.
Villagers who were trapped and found in a flooded cave are seen in a video in Xaisomboun province, Laos, May 27, 2026.Benz Norrased Palasing Seascout via AP
A collective of seven individuals engaged in illicit gold mining entered the cave on May 19 and were subsequently trapped when monsoon rains inundated the cave’s entry point, reported rescuers.
The rescue contingent managed to extract sufficient water from the system to permit four miners to extricate themselves from the mire on Saturday, as confirmed by authorities. The preceding day, a fifth miner succeeded in crawling and swimming out of the cave after receiving instruction in scuba diving, according to rescuers.
Clarification on sounds heard within the cave
Rescue personnel indicated earlier this week that they perceived a "knocking sound" originating from within the cavern system during their search for the missing individuals, which initially fueled optimism regarding their survival.
However, in a Tuesday interview on NBC’s "Today" program, one of the rescue divers, Josh Richards, clarified that the knocking sound was, in fact, his own attempt to elicit a response from the trapped men.
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
"To be clear, the tapping noise that has been referenced was made by me," Richards stated during the interview, referring to his efforts on Sunday to locate the missing individuals. "I was in the actual vertical shaft, striking the wall and then attempting to discern any reply."
Rescuers evacuate the first of five villagers who had been trapped in a cave in Xaisomboun province, Laos, May 29, 2026.Association Of Volunteers For Lao People via AP
Richards reported hearing a sound, which he characterized more as a "potential scraping" that might have been produced by bats agitated by his tapping.
"Consequently, I believe there has been considerable speculation surrounding this knocking sound," Richards commented. "The actuality is that I was the individual in the shaft, and I definitely did not hear anyone tapping back. That is not what transpired."
Potential location of the 2 remaining miners
In a conversation with ABC News on Saturday, Richards indicated that the rescue team hypothesizes the missing miners could be situated in a sixth chamber beyond the one where the other five miners were discovered.
However, Richards noted that some of the rescued miners have informed officials that there were only six of them trapped in the cavern.
"The miners are also asserting that it was solely them; there were six of them," Richards stated.
Rescuers as seen in a flooded cave in Laos’ central Xaysomboun province, northeast of the capital Vientiane, May 27, 2026.Benz Norrased Palasing/AFP via Getty Images
Richards suggested a plausible theory is that eight miners entered the cave, and three departed independently and went into hiding, as their mining pursuits are prohibited in Laos and carry legal repercussions.
Richards, who has since returned to his native Australia, depicted the conditions within the cave as "utterly dire," with passageways so narrow that he could barely maneuver through them.
"To give you an idea, within the initial 20 meters of our progress, I almost perished… in merely an inch of water," Richards recounted, explaining that his helmet became ensnared on the cave’s ceiling in a constricted section, causing "my face to be driven into the mud."
Richards further elaborated, "I quipped that it felt somewhat akin to being born anew, because, frankly, the passage through some of these areas required such a tight squeeze to get by."
Britt Clennett of ABC News contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com