5 villagers stuck in a flooded cave for more than a week found alive in Laos, rescuers say

Asia5 villagers stuck in a flooded cave for more than a week found alive in Laos, rescuers sayThe search is continuing for two others still missing from the group that became trapped when heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Members 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 Monday.  Metta Tham Kalasin Rescue / via ReutersShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 27, 2026, 7:25 AM EDTBy Alexander SmithFive villagers stuck inside a flooded cave for more than a week have been found alive, officials said, sparking jubilant scenes around the site in Laos.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Two people are still missing from the group that entered the cave on May 19 in the central Xaisomboun province, north of the capital Vientiane, before heavy rain and flash flooding blocked the entrance.On Wednesday, one of the groups coordinating the search, Metta Tham Kalasin (MTK) Command and Control Center, posted a video that appeared to show the moment rescuers made the discovery. The footage, seen through the screen of a small body camera-type device, showed people wearing head torches huddled on a rock to stay out of the muddy water below.Another video showed a group of people above ground, some of them wearing MTK t-shirts, exchanging hugs and punching the air, some of them falling to their knees and wiping away tears on hearing the news. 00:27Rescuers in Laos try to reach people trapped in flooded cave00:0000:00Bounkham Luanglath of the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, which has been working closely with local authorities in the rescue efforts, told The Associated Press that five people were found safe and alive but two more were still missing, and the search will continue for them.“I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” he said in a v...