If someone panics, they put the rescuer at risk too
In a flooded cave system in Laos, trapped villagers face an ordeal that strips human endurance to its most elemental form: they must learn, in hours, what divers spend years mastering. Rescue specialists warn that the cave's narrow passages and cold darkness are not the true adversary — it is panic, the oldest and most ungovernable of human responses, that now stands between the trapped and the surface. The operation has paused not in defeat, but in the wisdom that haste and fear are more dangerous than water itself.
- Villagers with no diving experience are being asked to breathe underwater and navigate flooded tunnels — a task that a 30-year cave diving veteran calls genuinely difficult even for himself.
- Panic is the rescue team's greatest fear: a single moment of thrashing or inhaling water could kill not only the evacuee but the diver guiding them out.
- Pumping efforts have failed to lower the water level, leaving no alternative route — the only exit is down, through narrow submerged passages, with a regulator and a stranger's hand.
- Thai diving teams have already assessed the remaining trapped individuals as not ready for evacuation, halting the operation overnight to allow rest, training, and psychological steadying.
- The rescue now hinges on teaching people to trust equipment they have never worn, in darkness they have never entered, while suppressing the fear that every instinct in them is generating.
A cave in Laos has filled with floodwater, and the people trapped inside face a demand that few could imagine: learn to dive out, through tight submerged passages, with equipment they have never used, in conditions that would test even seasoned professionals. Pumping efforts have not lowered the water level. There is no other route. The only way out is underwater.
Charlie Roberson, a cave diving specialist with three decades of experience, has been frank in his assessment — what these villagers are being asked to do would be difficult for him. It would be difficult for any expert. Yet the rescue operation has no alternative to offer. Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie confirmed that teams are actively teaching the trapped individuals how to breathe with a regulator and move through the flooded sections, but this is slow, careful work. Thai diving teams have already determined that those still inside are not yet ready to be brought out safely.
The reason preparation matters so deeply is the nature of panic itself. Roberson explained that a panicked person underwater does not only endanger themselves — they endanger the rescuer beside them. Thrashing, pulling away from a guide, inhaling water instead of air: any of these can turn a rescue into a double tragedy. The danger is not arithmetic; it multiplies.
Operations have paused through the night hours, giving divers time to recover and giving the trapped more time to acclimate — to practice breathing steadily, to build the fragile calm that underwater evacuation demands. The cave's darkness and cold are formidable, but rescue teams understand that the true obstacle is the human response to confinement and fear. The operation will resume. More people will be brought to the surface. But until the last person clears the water, the margin for error remains exactly zero.
A cave in Laos has filled with water, and the people trapped inside face a choice that few would want to make: learn to dive out, or wait. The problem is that diving out—through narrow passages, with equipment most of them have never worn, in conditions that would test even seasoned professionals—carries a danger that rescue teams now see as their greatest threat. That danger is panic.
Charlie Roberson, a cave diving specialist, has spent three decades in underwater caverns. When he describes what the trapped villagers are being asked to do, his assessment is blunt: it would be difficult for him. It would be difficult for any experienced cave diver. Yet this is what the rescue operation demands. The water level inside the cave is not dropping despite efforts to pump it out. The passages are tight. There is no alternative route. The only way forward is down, underwater, with a regulator in the mouth and a guide leading the way.
The Malaysian diver Lee Kian Lie told CNN that rescue teams are actively teaching the villagers how to breathe underwater and navigate through the flooded sections. This is not a quick process. It is not something you can master in an afternoon. The Thai diving teams overseeing the operation have already determined that the remaining trapped people are not yet ready to be evacuated. More time is needed. More training. More psychological preparation.
Roberson explained to CNN why this matters so much. "If someone panics, they don't just put themselves at risk," he said. "They put the rescuer at risk too." A panicked person underwater can thrash, can pull away from their guide, can inhale water instead of air. A panicked person can drown. And in trying to save them, a rescuer can drown as well. The danger multiplies.
The rescue teams have paused operations during the night hours, giving the divers themselves time to rest and recover. The work is physically and mentally exhausting. But the pause also serves another purpose: it gives the trapped people more time to acclimate, to practice, to build the kind of calm that underwater evacuation demands. Roberson believes the rescue teams will likely focus heavily on teaching people how to breathe steadily with the regulator—how to trust the equipment, how to move slowly and deliberately rather than with the urgency that fear creates.
What makes this situation so precarious is that there is no margin for error. The passages are narrow. The water is cold and dark. The people being evacuated have no diving experience. And the people leading them out are working in conditions that would challenge the most skilled divers in the world. The operation will resume, and more people will be brought out. But until everyone is safely above water, the greatest danger remains not the cave itself, but the human response to being trapped in one.
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This is an enormous ask. I've been doing this for 30 years and these conditions would be difficult even for an experienced cave diver.— Charlie Roberson, cave diving specialist
If someone enters panic, they not only put themselves at risk, but also put the rescuer at risk.— Charlie Roberson
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why is panic considered more dangerous than the physical conditions of the cave itself?
Because panic is contagious underwater. A person who panics stops thinking and starts reacting. They might remove their regulator, or fight their rescuer, or breathe too fast and exhaust their air supply. And when that happens, the rescuer has to make an impossible choice: save the panicked person or save themselves.
But these are villagers, not trained divers. How do you teach someone to stay calm in a situation like this?
You teach them on the surface first. You let them practice with the equipment in controlled conditions. You build familiarity so that when they're underwater, the regulator feels like an extension of themselves, not a foreign object. You also select people who show psychological resilience—people who can follow instructions and trust their guide.
What happens if someone does panic during the actual evacuation?
The rescue diver has to physically manage them—hold them steady, guide them back to air. But if the panicked person is thrashing or fighting, both of them are in danger. The rescuer might run out of air. The panicked person might inhale water. It's why the teams are taking time now rather than rushing.
Is there a point where someone is simply too afraid to be evacuated this way?
Possibly. That's why the Thai teams said the remaining people aren't ready yet. They're still assessing who can handle it psychologically. Some people might need more time. Some might need to be sedated—though that brings its own risks underwater.
So this operation could take much longer than anyone initially hoped?
Almost certainly. Every person who goes through has to be individually prepared and individually guided. There's no fast way to do this safely.