- Five villagers have been found alive after being trapped for a week in a flooded abandoned gold mine in Xaysomboun province, central Laos.
- Seven local villagers initially became trapped on 20 May when the mine flooded due to sudden, heavy rains; one person had escaped earlier.
- An international rescue team, including Finnish specialist Mikko Paasi, who aided in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, located the five individuals.
- Search efforts are still ongoing to find the remaining two people who are unaccounted for.
- While the five survivors are reported to be hungry and exhausted but in stable condition, their extraction from the difficult cave environment is expected to be challenging.
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