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Rescue teams in Laos's Xaisomboun province are exploring a newly discovered 100-meter vertical shaft as they search for two gold miners who have been missing for nearly two weeks after flash floods trapped seven villagers inside an unmapped cave system on May 20, 2026. Five of the seven have been rescued — one pulled out by divers and four who crawled to safety on their own — but the operation now faces mounting challenges from monsoon rainfall, flooded passages, and the dwindling odds of finding the remaining two alive.