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One World with Zain Asher

Rescue Diver: One Survivor Safely Brought Out of Laos Cave; First Survivor Rescued from Cave; Mission Concludes for Evening. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 29, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. I want to continue our coverage of these dramatic rescue

efforts taking place in Central Laos, as Will Ripley was just talking about, there a very urgent rescue mission is underway right now to bring

five men who have been trapped in a flooded cave underground for more than a week.

Moments ago, a rescue diver actually told CNN that one person has now been brought out safely, four others still remain inside a CNN team, as you just

heard there with Ripley and his producer. They remain at the site following developments. Specialist divers and heavy equipment are being used to clear

a path, but the chamber with the villagers is more than 100 feet from the entrance.

The villagers were searching for gold when flash floods cut off their exit. Rescuers also searching for two other people who are actually still

missing. I want to bring in Caving Expert Anmar Mirza in Bloomington, Indiana. He has over 30 years of experience as a cave rescuer and emergency

medical technician.

I mean, these images we're seeing are quite dramatic. I'm sure it is a dramatic boost to morale for the four others who are still trapped, just to

see one person. Can you imagine how much hope and joy that must give you after waiting for almost a week, not sure whether you're going to make it

out safely to see one person, one of your fellow mates, actually make it out alive.

That has got to give you so much hope, but when you think about the psychological difficulties of this. I mean, a lot of these people are

dealing with not just darkness, hunger, dehydration, but also panic. I mean, the sheer terror of being trapped there, but also being extracted,

you know, that really does make you pause. How do rescuers manage that?

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ANMAR MIRZA, CAVING EXPERT: So that is one of the things that we have to deal with on an ongoing basis. We try to ignore the fact that there is a

possible negative outcome here and focus on that we are going to get them out, and that's what keeps us going. We take it one small step at a time.

We can accomplish this. We can have this win, then we go into the next win, and then we go on to the next win. What's made this particular rescue

different than previous rescues, particularly like the tie rescue with soccer team, is that because they were able to run the internet cables into

the cave and have communications to that degree in and out of the cave.

The people inside of the cave now know that one of their trapped colleagues has made it successfully out, can give them hope inside the cave, which can

be a huge morale boost, and of course that's a huge morale boost for the rescuers to have that first successful win.

And so, the psychological increase of we have won can dramatically increase the possibility of the next one being successful.

ASHER: You know, obviously, we're focusing on the four men who are still trapped. Obviously, there are two other people who are trapped who haven't

been found at this point. God knows what their families are going through at this point in time, but you know it's there's a risk here for the people

who are trapped, but there's also a risk, you know, for the rescuers themselves.

And so, when team leaders are gathering, how do they decide how much risk is acceptable for the rescuers themselves in an extraction like this?

MIRZA: And this is a hard situation to deal with, because unlike industry, where risk can often be quantified, these are one-off situations, and the

risk itself can be very difficult to quantify. And so, you take some of the best people who to deal with a situation on scene, they've got the best

information there on the scene, and you trust their judgment.

But it is risk, and because it is risk, the possibility of a negative outcome is always there, and it's something that you accept. This is not

something that we can say we have a long history of dealing with mitigating these risks, because we just don't know some of the variables that may crop

up.

Obviously, the variables that we can control, we do to the best that we can, but things like the instability of the potential mine areas in the

cave are ones that we simply don't know about, and things like the weather coming in, we can monitor it, but we don't necessarily know how it's going

to react.

And so, you can attempt to mitigate those, but we don't have a really good feel for what it's going to do, unlike something where you might have in an

industrial setting, where these things are known for, in many cases decades, and engineers can study them and have a good idea of how they

might respond.

ASHER: Anmar, do you mind just standing by for us? Because I'm going to go to our reporter, who is just outside the cave in Laos, who's on the ground

now. Will Ripley, can you hear me?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, yes, I can hear you.

ASHER: Yeah, so Will, you know, take it away for us. I mean, obviously there's just been, I'm sure, so much jubilation. You have this one survivor

that has been brought out of the cave. I mean, what happens next to this individual? You know, this person has been obviously through so much.

I imagine there's going to be hospital visits, medical checkups. What are doctors going to be looking for, just to make sure the vitals are, OK?

RIPLEY: Yes, so this obviously this this first villager who got out, and we don't know his identity yet, although we did hear from his father, who was

very grateful for the international effort of these experts that have come in to conduct this very delicate and sensitive and dangerous rescue.

They're checking him out on the scene first. If he does indeed need medical care beyond what's available with the local medics here, because we're kind

of in, we are about a 10 hour drive from the capital, which is where they have the main hospital, or would be about 45 minutes by helicopter, unclear

though, if they'd be able to get a flight out right now, because there is rain imminently in the forecast was actually supposed to start around

6o'clock.

It's still dry right now, and I can still just barely see the moon above me, but the clouds have been getting thicker. Obviously, it's the rain

starts that complicates things, so if he needed to go to get more extensive medical care. They actually would not be able to drive him tonight.

You cannot pass through the mountain roads to get back to the capital at night. It's just too dangerous. You're talking about an area with mostly

dirt roads, very steep ravines.

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There can be flash flooding and slides, especially if the rain starts up again, they have to wait until daybreak, so that would be another, you

know, that'd be, you know, 05:00 or 06:00 a.m. before they can even venture out by car, or if the weather conditions allowed, if they could fly in by

helicopter.

We have Isaac Yee, one of our producers, and also, he's been working as a photographer and a fixer and doing everything. He's still positioned just

by the main highway, a few miles down the road from the cave. We had to clear out of the area where we were broadcasting live.

They, the local officials here, wanted to make sure that if anything does happen, that it's not added to the already hectic nature of the scene by

having a live broadcast, so we've now moved several miles away. We had to drive about 30 minutes to get back to the location where we are now.

We're still setting up our live shot. We're actually going to be talking with one of the cave divers in about 15 minutes, that's when we have the

call scheduled. We're hoping that we'll be able to bring it to our viewers live, although it will be in Thai. So, our producer, Kocha, is going to

translate live for us.

And we will hope to get an update on his condition, and also the status of the other villagers, whether they're inside the cave, whether they're

attempting more rescues tonight. Obviously, with rain in the forecast, that adds a real sense of urgency to all of this, because if the storms are bad,

it could cause more flash flooding inside that cave, where you have not just the villagers now, but you also have divers.

So, it's a very risky touch and go sort of situation. If the villagers have to ride this out and stay throughout the night, and they could try to get

them tomorrow, but definitely the wheels are in motion to try to get everybody out as quickly as possible, and also to continue searching for

the two villagers that are still missing, we have yet to get an official word about their status.

Did speak, though, with the brother-in-law of one of them earlier, who says his family is not optimistic. He actually was sick when he went into the

cave 10 days ago. The reason why they all went into the cave is because they were looking for gold. Their word had spread in the town that they had

found gold in this cave.

And you had a number of local divers going there, trying to see if they could find some when this massive storm hit that flooded out the cave.

They've now got generators. They've been pumping the water out. Still, there's about 30 meters of water that they have to dive through and swim

through to get to the next chamber before they then have to climb out another 220 meters or so, sometimes at a 45-degree angle, to reach the

mouth of the cave.

It could take somebody with experience two or three hours. It could take these villagers much longer, depending on their physical condition. And

obviously, if they're unable to walk and climb and crawl their way out, and they had to be carried out, that even adds another layer to this.

And it's really unclear how or when they're going to be able to get them out.

ASHER: And Will, as you're speaking, we're actually looking at video of the first villager being rescued from the cave, and you know, he looks

relatively frail. I mean, he looks as though he's sort of having trouble being completely steady on his feet. Obviously, he's got a lot of people, a

lot of rescuers around him, sort of trying to help him, but you know, just thinking about what this individual must have been through.

I mean, this is a person who obviously hasn't eaten for days, trapped in darkness, utterly, I imagine terrified, and clearly exhausted. And I'm so

glad that you brought up the family members of the two other villagers who have not been found, because I was thinking a lot this morning about what

their families must be thinking right now and feeling right now, because you have so many family members who are gathered outside this cave, they

are very optimistic.

I imagine that they are going to be reunited with their loved ones, but for the two others, their family members, I mean, seeing all these sorts of

scenes must bring up a lot of mixed emotions, and I imagine a lot of fear as well, Will.

RIPLEY: Absolutely. And we've, you know, the brother-in-law of one of the men who's missing told us that his wife is at home with their two very

young children. In fact, they just recently had a child. Part of the reason why he wanted to go to that cave, even though he was sick, is because the

thought of striking gold for people who are incredibly poor, in many cases living in this particular deeply remote area, to be able to find gold that

would be that could potentially change their lives as a family, depending on what they found.

So that's the reason why they go into these caves and put themselves in these dangerous situations. You know, this is not a natural cave structure.

You're talking about limestone, which you know there's definitely complications that can arise from limestone. It can crumble -- the cave

structure itself could be at risk of collapse.

Particularly, there was another flash flood situation. These are very narrow, hand-dug tunnels, and this is not a cave that has been mined

professionally. This has been done just by locals over the years, who are trying to get to pockets of gold, you know, deep underground.

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And while they are somewhat familiar with dealing with the caves, they certainly never have had to conduct such a tricky dive through flooded

caverns, not to mention on top of that the conditions inside the cave must have been incredibly difficult, being stuck in total darkness.

They actually lost track of time when the rescue divers first arrived and met the five villagers. They were insisting that they had been down there

for 18 days, even though officials say they were only down there for seven. Seven days felt like 18. On top of that, because of poisonous gasses that

were being emitted from decomposing bat eggs, that actually caused some of the rescuers to feel dizzy and need to sit down and get medical treatment.

Some of the villagers have been reporting difficulty breathing, saying that the situation is getting worse. One of the men even said if he had to spend

another day or two in the cave, he wasn't going to survive, he wasn't going to make it. So, as a real sense of urgency to get those who have been found

alive out, but for the families of those who have not even yet been located were believed to be in another chamber, even deeper into the cave that the

rescue divers have not been able to access yet.

You're now talking about 10 days without food, without fresh water. And obviously all of the fears of what their condition could be as a result of

that, very, very real for these family members of those remaining, too.

ASHER: Right, Will Ripley do stand by for us. I do believe we are going to check in with you a little bit later on the show. Thank you so much for

your great reporting on this incredible story. Will Ripley live for us there in Laos? Thank you. We're going to take a quick break. We right back

with more on the other side of this.

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ASHER: All right, let's get back to our breaking news this hour, where an urgent rescue mission is underway right now to basically rescue five men

who have been trapped in a flooded underground cave in Laos has been paused for the night. Moments ago, a rescue diver told CNN that one person has now

been brought out safely, but four others remain inside.

A CNN team is at the site following these developments. Specialist divers and heavy equipment are being used to clear a path, but the chamber with

the villagers is more than 800 feet from the entrance. The villagers were searching for gold when flash floods cut off their exits.

Rescuers are also searching for two other people who are still missing. Let's bring back our guest, Caving Expert Anmar Mirza in Bloomington,

Indiana.

[11:25:00]

He has over 30 years' experience as a cave rescuer and an emergency medical technician, as well. Anmar, thank you so much for joining us again on this.

We're just told that the rescue efforts have actually been paused for the night. So now you have a situation where one person has been brought out

safely.

You have four others who are still trapped. And I imagine that they're obviously hopeful, optimistic, because now they've seen that a rescue is

indeed possible. However, they're now being forced to wait another eight, maybe nine hours. So, there's obviously going to be a mix of frustration.

And the will to live, the psychological will to live, I imagine is very important at a time like this, because they can't lose hope, right?

MIRZA: Absolutely, keeping the morale up and making it positive for them is vital to the success of this. As I mentioned earlier, having those wins

will be crucial to making the odds of the next one being more successful. One of the things that will help these folks, though, is if they do get

some rest.

And they have a little bit more of an opportunity to recover some, because if the fact that they had several days of low food, bad water, and just the

terror of not knowing if they were going to be found or not, being able to recover from that and regain some strength will also help their chances of

survival.

And I'm trusting that the people there have explained and talked with that to them, and so that that will help. Yes, the weight is frustrating, but

also knowing that weight can also help them can help mitigate that as well.

ASHER: All right, Anmar Mirza. Thank you again. Let's go to our colleagues at CNN U.S. for more on this story.

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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Let's go back to our Breaking News. Rescuers and Laos have pulled the first

survivor out of a flooded cave alive. Take a look here. This is actually the moment of that rescue. Officials now say the operation is paused until

tomorrow morning.

They also say that four others remain inside. The CNN team is at the side following these developments.

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Specialist divers and heavy equipment are being used to clear a path, but it is certainly, a complicated mission, to say the least, and the chamber

they're in is actually more than 200 meters from the entrance. Rescuers are also looking for two more people who are still missing.

No word yet on their condition. Let's bring back our guest, Caving Expert Anmar Mirza in Bloomington, Indiana. Anmar, again, thank you again for

sticking with us this entire hour. You know, obviously, it's -- I'm sure for the rescuers themselves it's a difficult thing to rescue one person and

leave for others for another sort of 12 hours, even though you know it's the right thing to do.

You have to rest. I'm sure that it's very difficult because you know what they're going through in the interim. What is all of this like, though, for

the rescuers? Because you know that you have four people whose lives depend on you, and on top of that, you have their family members and the entire

world watching.

I mean, that is an enormous pressure. It's an enormous burden to bear right now.

MIRZA: It is. It is a very big burden. One of the problems that you have with any of this kind of situation is that if something goes wrong,

regardless of why it went wrong, you're going to live with the guilt of it, but you can't think about that in the moment. You have to be concentrating

on the mission and what comes next and how you're going to accomplish the next step, and then you start planning.

We make our contingency plans for the next step, the step after that, the step after that. It's like playing chess, not only are you looking at my

next move, but I'm looking at my next 10 moves, I'm looking at the whole board. How is it going to play out overall? And so, by focusing on that, it

can help avoid the negative thoughts of what can go wrong.

And so, these are psychological tricks that you play with yourself to accomplish the mission, and you focus on the mission and the success of the

mission, but it is hard, and oftentimes afterwards we pay a price for the psychology of that in the moment. And we need to decompress afterwards, and

especially if something doesn't go right, that we have things that we may think about for years or for the rest of our lives, in many cases, and even

when things do go right, you still sometimes pay that price.

ASHER: But the one sort of piece and source of optimism is the fact that now you know that the rescue plan that you've hashed out works, you know

that it works, because now you know that you've seen one person get out of this cave alive, thanks to the rescue plan that you have come up with.

Just quickly, do you stick with that exact rescue plan for the four others? Do you deviate from it at all?

MIRZA: So, you learn from it. It's an iterative process. You take what worked well with that first plan and you tweak it, you make it better, so

that the next time it'll be even better.

ASHER: All right. Anmar Mirza, thank you. You just gave us such a great insight into what everybody, I mean, especially obviously given your

background, the rescuers are experiencing right now. Incredible work that they're doing, obviously so much pressure they're under --

I'm so thankful that they're able to get some rest, rest, and obviously continue in the morning. We'll be watching Anmar. Thank you so much. Stay

with you, CNN. We'll be right back after the break with more news.

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