Five workers trapped inside a collapsed and flooded gold mine tunnel in Laos reportedly survived for days by eating wooden gold-panning trays while awaiting rescue.
The incident occurred at a gold mine in Long Cheng district, Xaisomboun province, where seven workers became trapped after a section of the tunnel collapsed.
Rescue teams from Laos and Thailand have been working around the clock to reach those stranded underground and navigate the flooded tunnel conditions.
A breakthrough came when rescuers successfully located five of the missing workers. The first survivor, identified as 23-year-old Thao Mued, was safely brought to the surface, providing a major boost to the ongoing operation.
The remaining four located workers are still inside the tunnel as rescue teams continue assessing conditions and planning the safest method to extract them.
Two workers remain unaccounted for, with search efforts still underway.
According to Kengkard Bongkawong, also known as Ajarn Ting Li, who heads the Metta Tham Kalasin rescue team in Thailand, the trapped workers survived by consuming two wooden trays commonly used for gold panning.
The revelation drew widespread attention online, with many social media users praising the rescuers and expressing support for those still trapped.
Some online users suggested the trays may have been made from soft wood that becomes easier to chew after prolonged exposure to water, potentially helping the workers stave off hunger in an extreme survival situation.
However, health and rescue experts caution that consuming wood is not considered safe and should only be viewed within the context of a life-threatening emergency.
Rescue operations remain focused on safely extracting the four survivors still underground while continuing the search for the two missing workers.
