PebHmong Discussion Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: theking on June 01, 2026, 01:17:58 AM
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‘The best outcome’: Laos cave survivors surprise rescuers by freeing themselves
Xaisomboun province, Laos — After a long and complex operation inside a flooded cave in a remote area of central Laos, on Saturday, the men at the center of the mission did something few expected: they walked out.
It wasn’t what the international rescue operation had planned for.
When the first of the trapped group of five men dived through the flooded tunnels on Friday, the efforts were paused and there was expectation it could be hours, even days before the others emerged.
Instead - after a days-long operation to pump water out of the remote caves bore fruit - the group scrambled their way out. Rescuers, who were about to launch a high-risk plan to guide the villagers out through flooded tunnels to safety, were stunned as they encountered them at the entrance to the caves.