Rescuers search for alternative route to reach two missing in flooded Laos cave

Key points

• Rescue workers in Laos searched Monday (June 1, 2026) for an alternative passage into a flooded cave where two people are believed to have been trapped for nearly two weeks after heavy rainfall flooded the main entrance, making it impassable.
• The two people remain unaccounted for since a search and rescue operation began last month in a rugged area of Xaisomboun Province, about 120 km north of the capital, Vientiane.
• 5 of the 7 people initially trapped inside the cave have been rescued.
• Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie, who is involved in the operation, said workers were pumping water out of the cave.
• “We will go into the suspected area to continue the search if the water level is lowered,” he told The Associated Press.