Rescuers in central Laos are racing to reach the last two missing men trapped deep inside a flooded cave system, after workers reported hearing a mysterious "knocking sound" that appeared to respond to their signals.
The men are among a group of seven villagers who entered the cave in Xaisomboun province more than a week ago to search for gold before sudden flooding cut off their exit.
Five have since been found and brought out alive in a series of risky dives through narrow, mud-choked passages with almost no visibility. The remaining two are believed to be deeper inside the network, beyond the chamber where survivors were located around 300 meters from the entrance, according to NBC News.
Rescue coordinators say teams detected knocking on at least two occasions as they probed a newly accessed vertical shaft thought to lead toward a possible air pocket.
Thai cave diver Kengkaj (also reported as Kengkard) Bongkawong, whose volunteer group Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin is assisting, said the sounds seemed to come from close range after workers knocked first, though he cautioned that they cannot yet confirm they came from the missing men.
Another Thai technician, Manat Artmongkron, reported the noise was heard roughly 70 meters down the shaft and appeared to be only a few meters away.
Dozens of Lao and Thai rescuers, including some veterans of the 2018 Thai youth soccer team rescue, are operating in shifts around the clock. Divers are navigating tight, jagged tunnels where their elbows and knees scrape the rock, carrying air tanks, ropes, and communication lines through cold, fast-moving water.
Heavy pumps are working continuously to lower water levels, but officials say progress is slow because rain and groundwater keep seeping into the cave. International specialists and local authorities agree that conditions remain highly dangerous for both the trapped men and the teams trying to reach them, The Guardian reported.
Officials have not released the identities of the two missing men but say they are local villagers familiar with the area.
The rescued men, who spent up to 10 days underground, are being treated at hospitals after emerging exhausted, malnourished, and dehydrated, but in stable condition, according to medical staff quoted by regional media.
Commanders at the scene stress that the operation has now shifted entirely to locating and extracting the final two, with teams pushing 20 to 25 meters beyond the last known chamber in hopes of finding them alive, as per the Associated Press.
© 2026 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
