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Rescuers work to drain flooded Laos cave to free 5 villagers and search for 2 still missing

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This image made from the video provided by Benz Norrased Palasing Seascout Diving shows the villagers who were trapped and found in a flooded cave in Xaisomboun province, Laos, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Benz Norrased Palasing Seascout Diving via AP)

BANGKOK (AP) — Rescuers working at a flooded cave in Laos said Friday that they were trying to drain water out to help extricate five villagers who have been trapped for more than a week.

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Summary

An overnight rainstorm has complicated their efforts, they said. Meanwhile, searching continues for two more people who still haven’t been located. The villagers had reportedly entered the cave to look for valuable minerals.

Rescue experts from Laos and neighboring Thailand have been working together for the past week, making their way through twisting, narrow passages with jagged walls and flooded sections of the cave located in a rugged area in the central province of Xaisomboun, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Vientiane.

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