Trapped Laos Miners Walk Free After 10 Days Underground

Australian rescue diver Josh Richards was literally putting on his wetsuit when the impossible happened. The four trapped villagers he was preparing to guide through deadly flooded tunnels walked out of the cave entrance on their own.

After more than 10 days underground in a remote central Laos cave, five men who entered searching for gold were finally free. Their rescue had seemed like it would require navigating murky, coffee-colored water through passages narrower than a refrigerator. None of them had ever dived before.

Then emergency pumps changed everything. Working continuously through Friday night, the pumps lowered water levels enough that the remaining four men could scramble out Saturday morning without diving at all.

Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, who helped rescue the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave in 2018, said his team had joked that if the pumps worked well enough, divers might not be needed. That's exactly what happened.

The relief was overwhelming. Thao Oun, who had been helping with the rescue while his own father was trapped, dropped to his knees and held him tightly when he emerged. Wrapped in an emergency thermal blanket, his father was placed on a stretcher as Oun wiped away tears from more than a week of agonizing suspense.

The men had survived underground without food or water for nearly a week before rescuers found them. Caked in mud in the damp, dark chambers, some developed skin and intestinal problems. But their spirits held.

On Friday, rescue divers had successfully guided the first man out through zero-visibility water, teaching him to use breathing equipment in claustrophobic chambers lit only by headlamps. Cheers erupted when he reached the surface. The overnight pumping made the difference for the others.

The Bright Side

While this rescue succeeded, it highlights a solution that worked perfectly. The pumps were always the plan because they offered the safest path out. When they exceeded expectations, lives were saved without anyone facing additional risk.

The veteran dive team, drawing on experience from Thailand's dramatic 2018 cave rescue, had spent days preparing for the worst-case scenario. Their expertise and the round-the-clock pumping operation created the conditions for the best possible outcome.

For this small community, joy remains bittersweet. Two other villagers who entered the cave earlier still haven't been found. The dive team returned Sunday to search deeper passages where an air pocket might offer hope.

Five families got their loved ones back without anyone else getting hurt.